Hiding IT
by SeddieBenett
Summary: ...it's all fun and games till a couple decide to... - Freddie B.
1. Positively Terrible

**_-Hiding IT-_**

_Chapter 1: Positively Terrible_

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><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

The little pee stick says it all. One little pink plus sign. Trust me, this is NOT positive news.

Pregnant?

I can't be. There's no freaking possible way I could actually be… 'with child'. Unless… Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! That night, I got a little more drunk than I was supposed to. What a blur of a night.

No. I won't spazz out about this. I will remain calm and - oh my GOD, I'm freaking pregnant!

"Sam? Sam, you in there?"

It's Spencer Shay, my best friend's older brother. If he finds out, there will be hell to pay. Well, he's kind of like the father I never really had. He's gonna flip!

"Just a sec," I call out.

"Hurry up, I need to take a wazz!"

"Okay! Keep your duck pajama pants on!"

I take a look in the mirror, and notice my face has gone a sickly green color. Good reason for that too.

I'm pregnant. Ugh, I can't tell anyone about this. Not even my careless mother, who probably wouldn't even care. Not Carly, not Spencer. Heck, definitely not -

"Sam! Seriously! Get outta there!"

"Alright!"

As soon as I open the door, I'm pushed aside, as Spencer races in there and slams the door. Talk about desperate times.

This was very serious. I had no one to turn to either.

Another door burst open, and in walks Carly and Freddie, chatting, laughing and carrying on about who knows what. I observe from the couch that I had placed myself on just now.

"Why didn't you wait for us, Sam?" Freddie questions.

"Why are you such a dork, Freddie?" I fire back.

"Sam!" Carly replies, in shock. "That wasn't nice!"

I know, I know. It was a little mean. Okay, very mean. I had a valid excuse. Hormones. And being… I can't even say it anymore. That's how embarrassed I am about this whole chizzed up mess.

"I'm sorry Carly," I say.

"It's alright. Just… try to be nicer to Freddie."

I scoff and roll my eyes. He's doing the same as me. We both glare at each other, until Carly's voice breaks our silence and staring contest.

"Freddie! Sam! Come on, it's snack time!"

I stand up. A little too quickly. As I do that, my head spins a little and a stagger backwards, right where Freddie is standing. I brace myself for the butt on floor impact, but instead his arms wrap around me quickly stopping the process.

My head tilts backward, and I see his warm brown eyes widen in somewhat fear and possible regret. Now, usually, on every other normal day, I'd punch him or kick him furiously. This wasn't any other normal day. Oh no. This was the day I found out I was freaking pregnant!

I blamed it on that.

"You okay?" Freddie says, helping me stand up again.

"I'm fine… nub," I reply, weakly adding the insult at the end.

"Snack?"

"Heck yeah!"

I run toward the kitchen, but not before pushing Freddie back a little, so I could get to the food first.

Mama, _always_ wins.

Well, except for when she finds out she's got a growing, living creature inside her belly. Then it all turns super weird.

Smiling to hide my own insecurities, I grab a cupcake. Carly is always buying us cupcakes, because she loves them so much. I don't blame her either. Cupcakes are awesome. When you're not pregnant, that is.

Truth is, and this surprises me as much as it will surprise you… I wasn't the least bit hungry.

As I force the cake down my throat, I feel a pair of eyes on me. Not Carly's. Freddie's. His yummy, chocolate colored eyes, that drew me in. It was uncontrollable. I hated myself for being so damn attracted to him right now. Even more so, now, than ever before.

"Sam?" Carly says, breaking through my thought. "You look… kind of lost. Are you alright?"

"Of course," I reply, glancing at Freddie, and resist the urge to smile. He has some cream on his upper lip, and doesn't know it's there.

If my best friend wasn't here right now…

_I smile at him, he smiles at me. I lean in toward his face, my lips inches from where the cream is…_

"You sure?"

Again. Breaking through my little day dream. I love my best friend, but she drives me crazy sometimes, with her worry and confusion.

"Carly, I'm fine."

"Okay," she says, looking at me like she didn't believe a single word of what I was saying.

I take half a step toward Freddie. Don't ask me why. I'm with-child here. Anything I do is going to be strange to anyone else. Especially the people who matter to me most. Carly. Spencer. And, believe it or not… even Freddie.

But he didn't shove me off, or walk away when I moved closer to him. I needed it. I needed him to need me as much as I needed him. Does that make any sense? Probably not.

"So, I was thinking, for iCarly…" Carly starts speaking, and while she does, I'm completely zoning out.

_Freddie leans over and brushes my hair aside, to whisper in my ear. I smile as he does this. _

"_Sam, let's get out of here," he whispers, while Carly's back is turned. _

"_What? Your precious Carly, is talking about something important. We should be listening."_

"_And since when are you polite? You're not even listening right now."_

"…are you even listening to me?" Carly demanded, both hands on hips and staring at me. Freddie nods his head, and I nod too. Sure, I lied.

"Oh, is that the time? Sorry Carls, I promised my mom I'd be home to help her wash the dishes."

I snort in amusement. Yes, I seem like my normal obnoxious, rambunctious self, don't I? Well, that's a façade. Yes, I know what the word means, otherwise I wouldn't have said it. It means a mask, a wall to cover up the reality of the situation.

In reality, deep inside the pit of my stomach, I'm all tied up in knots. I'm falling in love. I'm falling hard.

But no one seems to want to catch me. I watch Freddie leave in silence, and then look down at my phone. One text and two missed calls. Huh. Sorry mom. Today was probably not the best day for you to 'clean up your act as a irresponsible single parent'.

"Sorry Carly, mom needs me at home right now. Call you later, kay?"

"Okay," smiled Carly, but the shining concern was still evident in her eyes. I could see it.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Oh I know that."

After a quick hug, she pats my head and I exit the apartment, closing the door behind me. I see him standing right there, arms folded and a little frown on his face. I try a half scowl and walk past. His hand is stopping me.

I turn around, just about to throw him against the wall, in fury for touching me but something tells me to just listen to Freddie.

"Sam, you've been acting weird all day. What's up with you?"

"Nothing," I say, with a straight face.

Again, I'm lying. But this guy is the absolute last person I'd want to tell the truth to. There was no way he could ever know about all of this. But, believe me when I say… I really want him to know. I really need him to be the understanding, compassionate, kind-hearted boy I know that he is.

"It doesn't seem like nothing," he replies, his voice going softer now.

"_Look, I know it's scary, putting your feelings out there… everyone feels that way…" _

Shaking my head quickly, that moment vanishes to the back of my mind. No, I can't think about that. No.

That should not be running around my brain.

"Believe me," I reply, walking away from him. "It's nothing."

I'm turning loopy. Mental. Completely crazy. I'm falling in love with Freddie Benson… chiz! Or it could be because I'm freaking _pregnant! _Cue the intense session of kicking and screaming like a two year old, having a tantrum.

That's me. Running away from the inevitable. Running away, even from the good things.


	2. Freddie Visits Sam

**_-Hiding IT-_**

_Chapter 2: Freddie Visits Sam_

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><p>FREDDIE'S POV:<p>

Sam Puckett. Annoying and physically abusive most of the time. But something was wrong, I could tell by just looking into those almost stormy looking eyes. Grayish-blue.

They certainly captivated my undivided attention.

You know, people often say: "The eyes are the window to your soul". With this girl, her eyes, when noticed up close, gave all her secrets away. Usually I could spot what the secret was. Usually. This time though, I just couldn't put my finger on it. It was something strange, and something that was very nearly crushing her spirit.

Now, that was all I thought about. Her mystical eyes.

_The girl crawled onto my bed, her blonde curls draping over her face. _

"_What are you doing, Freddie?"_

"_Homework," I say, looking at her seriously. "Something YOU should be doing."_

_Laughter fills the room, and echoes through my ears. Her head is thrown back and her whole body shakes, as her giggles continue. I never thought I would say this. About Sam. But she looks gorgeous when she laughs. _

I ponder over the math question, in front of me, but somehow, I can't study anything. I'm too worried.

"_You worry too much, nub," she comments, as she lays upside down, draping herself over my bed. _

"_It's my job to worry about you, Sam. You seem to be getting into trouble all the time." I reply, smirking._

I close the book, with a slap and sit back. Staring at it, hoping it would jump up and bite me in the nose. Or at least yell some common sense at me. Grabbing my coat, I head out of the apartment. I don't care if it's the middle of the night. I don't care that it's pouring with rain.

Sam needs me, whether she knows it or not. Whatever the problem is, I'm sure I'll be the one to fix it.

… /…

I press the intercom button, at the bottom of the apartment building.

"What? Who is this?" A scratchy voice replies. Probably Sam's mom.

"Uhh. It's Freddie Benson. I'm a friend of Sam's."

"Ham? Nah, we don't want any ham thanks."

My finger slips off the button and I sigh in hopelessness. Before I can leave, I hear Sam's voice.

"Mom, that's Freddie!" she says, and the woman responds something that I can't really understand. "Come on up."

At the sound of a click, I know that the door has been opened and I can push through it. I walk up a couple of flights of stairs, and pass through another door.

Room 239. Rusty looking door. I knock on it, and it's opened almost immediately.

"You must be… erm…. Benson."

A woman, in her late forties stands right in front of me, chewing her gum obnoxiously. Her eyes narrow, and she surveys me closely. It's safe to say, she's a protective mother, despite what Sam lets on.

"Mom, relax," says a familiar voice. "He's not gonna hurt a fly."

There she is, in her PJ's and pig slippers. I never really thought I would see Sam in pink pajamas, but there you go. A first time for everything.

"Sam," I greet, with a small smile. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah. Why not. Come in." Sam replies, almost as if she was expecting me.

"Cool. Okay."

You would think that Sam's apartment is all trashed and such, when in actual fact, it's really not. It's more of an artistic feel to it. Different colors of paint are randomly splattered on the walls and also on the floor.

Well, I always knew the girl was somewhat of an artist. Maybe that's what her father did. Maybe.

I never thought to ask. Then again, Sam and I hardly shared anything secretive or personal, without Carly. The only time we had our own 'dirty little secret' was after our first kiss, on the fire escape. That's old news though. It happened a couple of years ago now.

"So," she says, sitting Indian style on her bed and looking at me. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

"I really need to know the truth. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing."

If it wasn't for the hesitation, I probably may have believed her. If it wasn't for the brief look of fear, I probably may have bought it. But, on both counts, I didn't.

"Tell me," I say, sitting down next to her. "It can only make the situation better."

Sam slides to the edge of the bed, and stands slowly, walking to her window and stays there, while she talks.

"Freddie," her voice is distant, quiet and shy sounding. "You ever made such a huge mistake, that you wanted to take back… but you just couldn't, no matter what?"

"Sure."

I wasn't lying. There were a couple of things that made the top of that list. No, I'm not telling you just yet.

"That's how I'm feeling right now."

"It's called, regret."

She nods quickly, but hasn't yet looked at me. I close my eyes and sigh softly. Sam does the same. Then she lets out a huge yawn. Maybe it's a fake one. Who knows. But it was getting a bit late, and we still had school the next day.

"I should go."

"Yeah. You should." Sam replies, crossing her arms.

"Sam, when you're ready to talk to me… about…whatever it is… I'll be ready to listen to you."

"Whatever."

I shrug in defeat and make my way to her bedroom door.

"Freddie?"

"Yeah?"

Turning around, fully expecting to have something thrown in my face, like a fatcake or pillow. It doesn't come. Just her quiet voice. Which also was a little strange. Sam's voice was always loud and obnoxious.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

I can't resist flashing her a grin. And I can tell, she's trying so hard to hide her own smile. Fail.

"See you tomorrow Sam."

Making my way down the stairs, I hear Sam's bedroom door close gently. I notice the photos, all hung up on the wall. There's Sam and another girl, that must have been her twin sister. Maybe. I'm still confused on the whole Melanie thing. But I see a smiling man and woman, which I have to assume is her father and her mother.

I feel a slight pang, and keep stepping down the stairs and admire the young pictures of Samantha Puckett.

"Enjoying yourself, boy?" I raspy voice asks, and I jump in fright.

"Oh, Mrs… P-puckett… I was just…"

"Ha! Just kidding, Benson," she smirks at me, and I straighten up slightly. "You know, she doesn't shut up about you."

I laugh nervously, and meet Sam's mom's gaze. I'm afraid of blushing, so I walk to the door.

"Oh, really? What… erm… what does she… say?" I question, not turning around.

Mrs Puckett laughs, and it sounds like a bell. a weird rusty old church bell, that is. That's when I turn around, and notice she's not there anymore.

_I shrug and open the door, about to leave, when a hand stops me. It's Sam._

_Whoa! Really, how did that girl learn to be so… stealthy? I guess she has what it takes to be an invisible ninja._

_"Freddie, wait," the girl whispers, and then leans over, pecking my cheek quickly. "Goodnight."_

Before I can say anything, she's dashing upstairs and out of sight. I'm feeling a little flushed, and take that as a good time to go back home. You know, before my mom finds out I'm missing and all that.


	3. How it all happened

**_-Hiding IT-_**

_Chapter 3: How it all happened…_

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><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

Why? I don't know. How? I tell you, I don't know!

I'm in love with a nerd, and I'm still freaking pregnant.

I can't tell anyone, anything, and it's driving me crazy! Perhaps it'll be best if I pack up everything and move to Argentina.

No.

Running away from this, will not solve anything. I have to confide in someone. But who? Carly will freak, the door man is not an option, Benson will probably pass out cold… but maybe… his mom? She's a nurse, right? She would deal with this problem like every day.

So here I am, walking over to the Bushwell Plaza, and on my usual way to Carly and Spencer's apartment.

No breakfast, so I'm starving hungry. That is, until I walk by the Benson household, and who should walk out just that moment, but the star himself, Fred Benson.

"Hi freak of nature," I greet.

"Sam. Caused any chaos yet?" he replies, smirking. God, I love that smirk.

"Frankly, no."

We both walk in together, and I find Spencer in the kitchen, cooking pancakes. Carly is no where to be seen. Perhaps she's still getting ready. That girl always seems to take forever. Seriously.

"Kiddos who love coming here and eating my food," says Spencer, happily.

"Adult who never hangs out with other adults," I tease, and Freddie laughs. I smile at him.

"Hurtful."

"Eh, man up."

Freddie continued to laugh, and Spencer looked between bemused and slightly hurt but served us the pancakes. Finally!

I sat down, took a huge breath, inhaling the goodness of pancake smell and… my stomach did a sudden lurch, and all too quickly, I was racing into Spencer's bathroom, throwing up. Great. Just great. I can't even eat Spencer's homemade, delicious pancakes without yakking.

As I walk back out, I find three confused faces staring at me. Carly. Spencer. And… Freddie.

"Okay," I laugh, weakly. "Let's go to school."

Without any more words, Spencer said good bye to us, and the three musketeers were off to school.

Carly and Freddie were laughing and chatting amongst themselves, while I was trying to get there as quickly as I could. The sooner I was away from those two, the safer I was, at not spilling my guts. In more ways than one, too.

It was really unusual that I would be this eager to get to school, since it was one of the most horrible places in all of the world. Trust me, it is.

As soon as I opened the door, and stepped inside Ridgeway High School, I felt as if everyone had stopped in the middle of their conversations or whatever they were doing, and turned around to stare at me.

Even though my friends were right behind me, I never felt more alone.

My locker. The only place I could bury my head into, and make the nightmare seem… well, less real. But, it just made it all the worse. Especially with a persistent Fredward Benson on your case all the time. He really should spend a lot less time worrying about me. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself.

"Sam?" he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Sam, are you okay?"

"Go away nerd," I reply, not wanting to look at him.

I don't hear any more, and turn around to find him not there. So, what do I do? I slide down the lockers, onto the floor and cry. The tears cloud my eyes, sting my eyes and roll down my face, into my knees.

How did this even happen? Me, becoming pregnant…

... /...

_A month and a half ago, Freddie, Carly and I were at one of Wendy's big parties. She invited pretty much everyone from our grade. Yeah, it got pretty wild. The girl didn't leave anything out either. __Games and her parents "private" stash of alcohol. _

_Teens, party, drinking… not a good mix._

_Must have been the middle of the night, of something, and I was very tipsy from the couple of whiskey shots I had. Even Freddie had some, I remember that much. Not sure where Carly was. _

_But I crashed on a bed. _

_Didn't know where I was, but my head was spinning like there was no tomorrow, and as I said, I was quite out of it. So when someone collapsed directly on top of me, a guy, nonetheless, I was too smashed to push him off. Instead, I giggled, and starting flirting with the stranger. _

_Soon enough, all my clothes were off, and I think the guy had stripped down too. _

_That's when it happened, the incident. The one thing I want to take back. As I could never relive that special moment._

_... /..._

The bell rings for class, and I decide to skip school. Instead of filing into the classroom with all the other students, I drag my bag out of my locker, slam it closed and head back home. Something told me, I was going to have speak to my mother about all of this.

But there was no way, in a million years, that she'd understand. Is there?


	4. Pam Finds Out

**_-Hiding IT-_**

_Chapter 4: Pam Finds Out_

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><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

The door slams behind me, and I hear some clanging coming from the kitchen. Must be my mother, trying to "make an effort as a substantial parent" or some other chiz the therapist "suggested" that time we had to "make nice" in the stupid confining therapy box.

"Sam? Is that you… honey?"

I could tell she forced the 'honey'. usually, she wouldn't call me such a cutesy name. which I was actually okay with. This, was weird.

"Yeah mom."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah mom."

"How are your friends?"

"They're fine mom."

Wait," my mother pauses and narrows her eyes, as if just remembering something. "Shouldn't you be at school right now?"

I slump on the couch, not saying another word. But I can tell, mom won't just 'let it go' or whatever.

"Young lady, why aren't you at school?"

Her tone of voice almost makes me crack up laughing. It's too stern, too 'parental' and way too forced. Just stick with what you know dear mother. Everything was so much better when you hardly cared for me at all.

Caring. I scoff at that word. I don't need looking after. I'm my own reign of terror, I'm my own bucket of mischief, pranking and somewhat vicious behavior. Anyone who doesn't believe me, finds that out the hard way. That's what happened before I became friends with Carly. I stole her sandwich and pushed her on the ground. When she pushed me on the ground, instead of crying, I knew that it was a friendship meant to be.

My mom sat down next to me, with a look of concern upon her face. It was really weird to see.

"Sam," she says, softly. "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

Suddenly my world is upside down and inside out and backwards. She knew? But how? When? Where? What? I never said anything, to anyone. There was no way she could possibly…

It was like she could read my mind, or something. Scary, scary thought.

"How did you-"

"I'm your mother. Mother's know pretty much everything."

Okay, enough with the wise talk. Where is my real mom? You know, the one who stays out late, brings home a new guy every night, sometimes a little drunk and sometimes a lot drunk. I want her back.

"I don't know what to do, mom," I sigh, sadly.

"Well, neither did I, at your age."

I looked at her. "You mean…"

"Yes, the same thing happened to me. Eventually, I had the thing aborted, because I knew I wasn't ready for the full mom responsibility."

"So, I should abort it?"

There was a moment of guilt and regret flashing across my mother's face. I saw it. Even if for a spilt second, but I saw it. I wondered if, maybe, she was ashamed at what she did. It was killing an innocent life, after all. Really, how do you take that lightly? You can't. It's almost impossible. Yet, something told me, I was heading down the same path as my mom.

"Look Samantha," she said, looking me in the eye. "I'm not going to sway you either way. If you think you're ready, have the baby. If not, abort it. You're eighteen, you're semi-responsible."

I was taken aback. I was expecting to be yelled at, slapped and be called a few not nice words. I never ever had seen this side of my mom before now. Somehow, I kind of… liked it. In other ways, though, it was creepy.

Very, very creepy.

"Umm… thanks?" I reply, but questioning whether she meant what she had just said.

"Have you told the father?"

"No."

"Do you even know who the father is."

"… no."

Even though I had a fair idea who came into that dark room, that night. I wasn't ready to admit it to myself, let alone my own mom though.

"Oh, this is exactly what happened with me."

"Great." You can sense my over enthusiasm, right now, I bet. Sarcasm, peoples, sarcasm.

Then my mom proceeded to tell me, in excruciatingly painful detail, of how she and some guy in a mini-van "got it on" and, eventually, made a bag mistake. That mistake being, an almost baby. Of course, as she already said… she had it aborted.

Mom, if there was ever a time to thank you… now, is not it.

"You should tell that Benson kid. And erm… whats-her-name… brown, shiny hair, big hazel eyes…"

"Carly?"

"Yeah, that rings a bell! Your best friend. She has a right to know." Mom replied, walking into the kitchen. "I'm making bacon and eggs. Want some?"

"Sure." I say, half-heartedly. Not that I was hungry or anything.

I have to give some credit to my mother, for trying to be a good parent. After all, she had been through a lot.

There was no way I could abort this child or thing growing inside me. But there was no way I wanted to be left with a baby. After all, I was only eighteen years old, for heaven sakes. This was too hard to decide on, by myself. Yet, I had no one to confide in with all of this. So, it had to be my own thoughts and feelings to help me make this crucial decision. Well… it determined the rest of my life.

As I said. My friends… my best friend and… well… other one… it was hopeless.

If I told Carly or Freddie, they'd both freak out then and there. Possibly even pass out. Maybe the best thing was to keep this a secret for as long as I possibly could. Maybe I should move to Argentina. Or at least the north pole.

But, how long could I hide this from the people I cared about most? How long would it be, before my two best friends found out my little secret?


	5. Strange Friend Behavior

**_-Hiding IT-_**

_Chapter 5: Strange Friend Behavior_

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><p>CARLY'S POV:<p>

Something was very, very wrong.

Like this morning, when Sam came over for breakfast, you know, because her unqualified single parent mother can't do it, for some weird reason. Sorry. I'm being far too mean. I haven't gotten much sleep the past couple of nights. Spencer was working on a new sculpture. Of course he has do work in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! Sorry again. Now I'm getting off subject here.

Sam. She threw up, just at the mere scent of pancakes. Who does that? There was only one type of person. Well two. Pregnant. But I'm crossing that one off right now!

A sick one, duh! Sam Puckett must have the stomach flu that's going around. I told Freddie this, and he shrugged, not saying very much at all. Well, that was usual for him. Especially when I rambled on about Sam all the time. I couldn't help it. The girl is my best friend. Sure, Freddie is too, but even more so, Sam is. She's the girl I come to when I have a crush on a guy, and we talk for hours about it, she's the girl who eats all the meat supplies out of my fridge. And she's the girl who I tell all my secrets to. My best friend.

"Carly, please. Stop that." Freddie says, for about the fifth time that morning.

"Sorry," I reply, putting down the pen I had been clicking on and off, continuously. "Why are you so irritated today, Mr Grumpy Pants?"

Freddie ignores my question, and keeps writing. I turn to the board, and notice the teacher staring directly at me. Oops! Back to work now. I still couldn't help but wonder what was on that boy's mind.

"Mr Howard," called a voice, from the back of the room. "Can I be excused?"

"No Gibson. You can not."

I look around, and see a very uncomfortable looking Gibby. I raise my hand.

"What now!" Mr Howard shouts, startling the whole class.

"Mr Howard, sir," I say. "Gibby's going to explode if you-"

The teacher up front, groans loudly and orders Gibby out of class, throwing a hall pass at him on the way out. I smile at my small gesture of kindness. Also, it's one little victory for me. Zero for the mean, evil Mr Howard. Gosh, he's just so vicious and cruel sometimes.

Out the corner of my eye, I see a small smirk appearing on Freddie's face. That smile is cute on him.

Now. Back to the Sam issue. She wasn't in class, so perhaps she skipped it, and was hiding in the janitors closet. Yeah, that's where she always was, unless Freddie pulled her into the room. This time, Freddie didn't do that and he was being very irresponsive. To everything.

"Freddie," I hiss, nudging his foot with mine. "Freddie… I need to talk to you about something…"

"Shh!" Mr Howard says, probably spraying the front row of students with unnecessary spit.

Annoyed at the teacher and also irritated that Freddie won't talk to me, I slump in my chair, and decide to write some of the paper that we were supposed to be writing. The thing was, every time I picked up my pen, it just wouldn't find it's way to the paper.

Finally, the bell rang, signaling morning break. Or recess, as some people call it. Whatever it was, it was my only chance to speak to Freddie about Sam's little secret. Yes, the stomach flu one.

When I stood up to grab my books, I look over to Freddie's desk and see that he's already left.

Oh my gosh! What is his problem today?

"Miss Shay," says a rough voice. Uh oh. It's our teacher. Mr Howard. "The next time you try and disturb my brilliant teaching… it's detention for you! For a whole week!"

Wiping spit out of my eye and flicking it away suddenly, I nod my head quickly and bolt out of there. As I said before, he's mean and cruel. For a teacher anyway. And that's sugar coating it… because… well… Spencer tells me to say bad words is not considered 'lady like' okay? So, blame him for my lack of… sass.

I make my way over to my locker, and hear people whispering. One name catches my listening ears. Sam.

Without drawing too much attention to myself, I slowly unlock my locker and open it. As soon as I do that, though, a whole pile of books come tumbling out and hit the floor with a huge _c r a s h ! _

If that wasn't bad enough, the people who were in the middle of the somewhat "gossip" conversation, all turned to stare at me like I interrupted them.

Geez! People can be so, judgmental.

I bend down to pick up my books and grumble to myself, when I see a familiar pair of sneakers in front of my face.

"Can I help you Carly?" Freddie asks, also bending down to pick some books up. He's a good friend.

"Thanks Freddie," I reply, and stand up to place them all back, neatly this time. "Speaking of 'helping', I think I know what's wrong with Sam."

"Oh yeah?"

I nod my head and turn to face him.

"But first," I say. "Tell me why you've been acting so… anti-social this morning."

"I haven't been…"

Before he can finish his sentence, I send one of those "I'm not buying your excuse" glares. He shuts up and shrugs instead. I sigh in frustration. It's not going to be easy finding the reason, or the answer to my question.

"Freddie…"

"Carly, I need to tell you something. But you cannot freak out, or tell anyone about this."

"Cross my heart," I say, a little excited. "Now, spill!"

I see him sigh is defeat. Here it is, the one moment I've waited for. You have no idea, how long I waited to hear what he was about to say. I'm ninety-six percent sure, that's what he was going to tell me. Of course it was. I mean, what other "thing" could he possibly have to say?

"You're in love!" I say, clapping my hands quickly. "With Sam!"

Freddie's face goes from confused, to complete shock.

Did I know what he was going to say? Did I? Did I? This is the part where I grin in complete victory.

"N-no." He stutters slowly. "I wasn't going to s-say that."

Oops! My bad!


	6. Thinking Things Through

_Chapter 6: Thinking Things Through_

FREDDIE'S POV:

Awkward silence settles between the both of us while what she said, slowly sinks in.

Wait…

Carly thought I was in love with… oh… that's why she was all suspicious and such.

It could be true. I mean, sure, I liked her (Sam), probably a little more than I was supposed to. Friends don't kiss, do they? Sure, cheek kisses, or even nose kisses. But… first kisses? They're special. Surprise "I'm totally in love with you" kisses aren't what friends do either.

Sam and I… are complicated. Yeah, that's a good word for it. Complicated.

"Freddie, I'm so sorry," she said, now clearly embarrassed.

"It's okay," I replied. "What I was going to say, was… Wendy's party."

"Oh yeah. It was really fun, wasn't it. But you and Sam got so drunk, I'm sure you couldn't remember what happened."

"I remember drinking. And crashing on a bed, in a darkened room… and that's about it… I think…"

Truth was, I'm sure there was a girl in there with me and I'm sure she was flirting with me too. Maybe something could have happened. Then again, I was drunk, the girl was probably drunk too, and so…

"You and Sam disappeared. At the same time," Carly explained, as if slowly coming to a realization.

"No, Carls. No we weren't… we didn't…"

There was no possible way. No. I would remember… and… I didn't. So…

"I'm not saying you did." Carly comments, quickly.

"Okay." I reply, unsure if she was or not.

It was all too confusing for me to work out. Meanwhile, Sam was skipping school, again, and Carly explained her theory about the stomach flu. Yes. That's what it was. All that throwing up, and weird, quiet behavior. Of course.

After closing her locker, Carly and I make our way to where the classroom is, for the next lesson.

"Do you think Sam is alright?" I ask Carly, quickly.

Carly flashes me a knowing smile. I don't like the look of it. Because it usually tags along with the line… "oh, you care about her… you must love her…" or some chiz like that. Something I do not need right now.

"Oh you care about her," she says, still smiling. "You must love her."

See? What did I tell you? That girl is totally predictable. Well, most of the time.

"Of course I care about her. She's my friend too, despite our arguing and bickering."

"And you're in love with her. Right?"

"Shut up Carly," I say, nudging her ribs, playfully.

"Oww! Freddie!" Carly complains, then smirks. "…but you're in love with her… Right?"

She's no Sam Puckett, that's for sure. Than again, no one is a better Sam, than Sam herself.

I sit down, and wait for class to start. Meanwhile, I notice Carly has whipped out her cell phone, and is frantically texting someone. My guess: her best friend, the one who is not at school or not in class right now.

"Carly, you better put that away before Ms Briggs sees you," I warn her. "You remember what happened last time."

This wasn't the first time that the brunette had been texting in class. But last time, she got caught, and her phone was confiscated for a whole week. Yes, old Francine Briggs was a real mean teacher.

"Shush," says Carly.

"Morning delinquents," called out a stern sounding voice. "As you all know, I do not allow cell phones in my class Miss Carly Shay."

I turn to face my friend, to give her an "I told you so" look, but she had already stowed the phone away somewhere.

"I don't know what you mean, Ms Briggs," she said innocently.

As I try hard to stifle a snorted laugh, it doesn't work and the teacher is glaring in my direction.

"Mr Benson, are you _trying _to get detention?"

"No ma'am," I reply quickly, and seriously. I really didn't want detention.

"Right," said Ms Briggs. "Class, turn to page twenty -two. Pregnancy."

Pregnancy… really? It could have been a choice of one billion topics to learn about and Briggs chooses… _that._That being, disturbing and highly unlikely to happen to any girl I know, anytime soon. Seriously.

There's a class groan of disapproval. I agree.

"Shut up, you lot. Or there'll be detention for all of you!"

Yeah. Thanks teacher. Detention is a great way to get the kids more interested in a disturbing subject.

All the students that groaned, settled down.

Immediately everyone was sitting up, straight, in their seats. I had to join in this disapproval. Why on earth would they force us to learn about getting pregnant. Besides, I was a guy! Guys don't get pregnant for Goodness sakes!

And it's not like we know anyone that is carrying a child in their belly.

Right?


	7. Telling Carly

_Chapter 7: Telling Carly_

SAM'S POV:

Let's just say, I feel more alone than ever before.

That's when my cell phone rings. Great. I bet it's Carly, checking up on me.

'**S, u skipd skool 2day? y? tlk soon. C xx'**

Skipping school. Yes. Talking to Carly and/or Freddie? Not happening. Trust me, it's a bad idea, even in thought form. I don't think of things very often, either. What? It's way too much effort.

That's when it all fell into place.

If I told Carly, and make her swear not to tell Freddie anything, she'd have to obey. Right?

"You have a visitor," called mom, and in walks said brunette girl.

"Hi Carly," I say, sitting up immediately, and regret it straight away. "How goes it?"

"I'm fine Sam." Carly replies, looking at me seriously. "But, I know you're not. What's up?"

I sigh softly. Here goes nothing.

"Carly, you are not to tell _anyone_ what I'm about to tell you. This is highly confidential, and top secret."

"I'm your best friend, Samantha Puckett. I cross my heart and swear. Now, what is it?"

"Remember Wendy's awesome party?"

The girl giggles, and probably recalls a little bit of the evening, a month or so ago. I couldn't blame her. I mean, as I had said previously, Wendy threw some pretty serious wild parties.

"Who doesn't?"

"Yeah," I laugh weakly. "Um, well, there was some point during that night… where I hardly remember doing anything."

"Freddie was telling me the same thing today."

He was? "So? I don't care."

"Oh."

"Anyway. I was hoping you could tell me if you saw me anywhere, doing anything I wasn't supposed to… or stuff like that?"

Carly Shay's eyes went wide like saucers. But she didn't say anything. Instead, the girl walked over and sat on the edge of my bed, a bit away from me. Those warm brown eyes, looked into my own watery eyes as she was slowly coming to the realization of something.

This was probably the most awkward moment I have ever been involved in. Besides, Carly wasn't speaking a single word. I think she even stopped breathing for that long moment.

"I can't believe it." Carly whispers.

"Neither can I. But…"

"Sam, why didn't you tell me? I mean, we're best friends. You know you can always come to me… always…"

I didn't know what to do next. Her arms were right there, so I collapsed into her and hugged her tightly, starting to cry, bitterly. Believe me when I say, I have never, ever done this. Carly can tell you that too.

As she comforted me, I realized that perhaps hiding something from my best friend wasn't the smartest idea.

I needed a good friend, and she was it. Carly Shay, the world's best confidant. If only I had realized that, the first day I found out I was… well… you know. Yeah, that.

"Do you… umm. Do you know who-"

"Not a clue," I reply, calmly.

"How are you gonna-"

"No idea."

"Should we tell-"

"NO!"

"But I think he should-"

"Carly, if he knows about this, he's not going to speak to me, let alone look at me anymore!"

"I thought you… oh, I get it now!"

That's when something in my best friend's eyes told me, she knew what _exactly _was going on. And I didn't like that shininess behind those widened brown eyes. It meant trouble. Not as in "go to jail" kind of trouble.

Like… being _IN LOVE WITH FREDDIE_ kind of trouble.

This. Was. Not. Good.


	8. A Nasty Rumor

_Chapter 8: A Nasty Rumor_

FREDDIE'S POV:

Okay. Where was Carly? And why wasn't Sam at school today… again? Not that there's anything unusual about that feisty blonde skipping school. Since she does it all the time. But now that Carly's not here, I have to wonder if there's something going on, that I don't know about.

Is there?

"Hey Benson," called out a familiar sounding voice.

"Gibby, hi," I reply to the chubby boy.

"You seen Carly around?"

I shrug my shoulders a little. "Not since yesterday."

"Hey. I think you should know… there's a rumor going around that…"

Before Gibby could finish what he was going to tell me, the bell rings, signaling the start of the school day.

As I close my locker door, I notice people are staring at me. Okay, so I'm not self-conscious, but usually I can walk around freely. You know, without being glared at. Unless Sam's anywhere near me. She does enough glaring for the entire school. And perhaps the world.

"Class, take your seats. Mr Benson. Where are Miss Shay and Miss Puckett?" Mr Howard questions.

"Sorry sir, I don't know." Really. I don't know, if I did know, I'd tell him. Or not.

"Right. Well, they have a lot to catch up on already."

I nod my head in agreement. Just as I do this, my head get's whacked with a ball of paper. I look in the direction I thought it may have come, and I see and smiling Gibby, looking rather obvious. Had I been the teacher, I would have given that boy detention right away.

Throwing scrunched up pieces of paper at people's heads is just not allowed in class.

However, seeing as I was entitled to some wild behavior, of a high-school student, I slowly unwrapped the paper, and read what it said.

'**You and Sam, huh? :P That's a little dirty… and cool.'**

Me and Sam… what? Dirty? Huh?

Gibby wrote this? I thought, picking up a pen and slowly writing a response. Then I rolled up the paper again, and aimed it over at my friend. Luckily, Mr Howard didn't catch me doing this.

Out of the corner of my eye I see a grin forming on the chubby kid's face. I fear to know what that sick mind of his is thinking right now. But I had a sneaking suspicion, a clue would be coming in five… four.. Three… two…

Bingo! Another hit on the head with the same balled up piece of paper. I unwrap it carefully.

'**Playing dumb, huh? Okay. I get it. ;) ;)' **

Umm. I'm not playing anything, Gib.

Again, I write my reply to try and understand what the heck this kid was going on about, seeing as I had no idea so far, and threw the note back to Gibby.

After a stifled laugh, I see him frantically scribbling some words down, with a cheeky looking smirk across his face and it made me shudder. I really didn't want to know. But at the same time, I was dying to know.

The paper ball lands in front of me, this time missing my head. I unfold it and it says:

'**I bet it was amazing. Feisty little blonde, all that built up lust and sexual frustration. ;)'**

My mouth drops open, and I'm speechless. I stow the paper away, unable to even respond to that.

Is that what this was all about?

Did people think I… with Sam? Oh, they were so wrong. And it was all so disgusting to even think about that. Sam was my friend. As I would… then again… she was kind of…

No. No, bad Freddie! Bad!

Never think of Sam as anymore than just a good friend. Don't think about the way her soft lips say your name. don't think about the way those shiny, golden ringlets trail down that slender and curvy figure. Don't even think about blue eyes, staring you down, the way they so often do. You can't help but smile at her.

And her smile. Oh God.

"Psst, Freddie," whispered another voice, from behind me. "Is it true you and Sam did it?"

I roll my eyes and ignore the question. People can be so crude.

Besides. It was only a nasty rumor. Spread by nasty people who like to do nasty things, instead of the right things. Like squishing this rumor. Immediately.

Standing up suddenly, I see Mr Howard glaring at me, and wondering what the heck I was doing. It was a fair question, seeing as I really had no clue of what I was about to say to the whole class. I mean, I couldn't just say "Sam and I did not… do the dirty…" although that was the truth, they wouldn't believe me.

Just a stupid rumor. Stupid person who even thought of such a rumor.

For some reason, my eyes shifted toward Gibby Gibson, as I took my seat again, slowly.


	9. Friend or Foe?

_Chapter 9: Friend or Foe?_

SAM'S POV:

Carly had been surprisingly quiet within the past twenty something hours. What? I don't know how many hours are in a day. I like to sleep for twenty of them. And eat for the remaining… oh whatever.

So I find myself, knocking on the Benson's door. Praying that no one is home.

"Who is it?" Mrs Benson's voice calls out, from behind the door.

Damn. Just my luck.

"Sam Puckett."

"Go away! We don't have any meat for you here!"

I smile, and recall that very fond memory of me storming into Freddie's apartment, late one night, demanding ham and bacon. Yes. I had a strong craving. For meat. ever since that night, Crazy keeps her doors and windows locked up tight. And for good reason too.

"I'm not here for meat. I'm here to…" I bite my lip, hard. "…I came here to t-talk."

The door opens slowly, and reveals a stern looking woman. Secretly I have always admired her, for single handedly raising a son and teaching him to be… well… how he is now. Kind. Caring. Quite… well… handsome…

…but if you tell anyone I said, you will die a thousand painful deaths!

"Talk about what?' Mrs Benson questioned, as she leads me into the clean and neat living room.

We sit down on the couch, and she's being strangely… nice to me. I shrug it off, and look down at my sneakers, which are looking really dirty, now that I think about it.

"…well… you're a nurse. Uhm. Mrs Benson…" I start to say.

That's when it all goes creepy.

"…You're pregnant."

What is it with mom's and knowing that people are pregnant! It's weird! And did I mention creepy?

"How did you-"

"Sam. As you know. I'm a nurse. AND, I'm a mother. The two of those, together, make a great combination."

"Oh."

There's an awkward silence, before Crazy speaks up again.

"You're going to need a whole list of different vitamins, pre-natal vitamins of course… and…"

Pre-natal? Ugh. I have _a lot _to learn within the next nine months. I don't know the first thing about caring for an infant. Sure I've changed diapers, like a couple of times, and I even made one laugh once. But as far as the whole "mothering" thing goes… I'm screwed.

"…Mrs Benson…"

"Yes Sam?"

"Uhm… Could you… teach me about… you know… looking after a baby?"

"Of course dear," said the woman, her eyes shining.

I looked at her strangely, as she went on and on about "before and after" pregnancy stuff. My mind went blank and I thought about how uncommonly kind she was being toward me. Whereas I had been… well… not nice to her since day one of meeting her.

This revelation didn't stop haunting me.

We both looked up at the same time, as we heard keys turning in the lock.

In walked a confused looking Fredward Benson. Can't say I blamed him for being confused. I mean, here I was, talking to pretty much the second most hated person that I could associate with. His mother.

"Hi mom," he said, leaning over and kissing her forehead then looks over at me. "What are you doing here? Mom what's Sam doing here?"

Opening her mouth, I could tell she was about to reveal the one secret that I wanted to remain a secret. His back was facing me, so I stared at Crazy and shook my head quickly, as if to say 'Please, please, _please_! Don't tell him about it!' and Mrs Benson, nodding a little, smiled at me.

"Sam just wanted some advice."

The moment she said this, Freddie looked at me, bewildered. Yeah. I know, dork. It was just as strange for me to hear that coming out of your insane mother's mouth.

"What _kind _of advice?" he questions, curiously.

"Just-" I start to say, but I'm cut off.

"Girl stuff," said the woman, quickly. "You wouldn't be interested in learning about our menstrual cycles, would you dear?"

Freddie shuddered, and I did too. Also, I tried not to laugh, since this was actually comedy gold.

"No thanks. Ms Briggs already went through that yesterday."

It was my turn to shudder, and again, hold back a fit of laughter, watching Fredward's face turn from pink, to bright red. He looked cute when he was blushing. Suddenly I turn away, and try to contain myself. These feelings.

These _feelings._

As if sensing that something was wrong, and we needed to discuss it together, Crazy smiled at the both of us and left the living room.

The awkward silence returned and I played with my fingers, while Freddie sat down next to me, but keeping some distance between the two of us. Just like our "relationship". If you could call it such a technical word.

It was complicated.

As was everything else I was about to suddenly blurt out within the next five minutes of my life.


	10. The Next Five Minutes

_Chapter 10: The Next Five Minutes_

SAM'S POV:

Our awkward silence continued.

Inside my head was a debate of 'telling vs. not telling him'.

"Why have you been acting weirder than usual, lately?" questioned Freddie.

My face probably turned as red as Freddie's face was before, while him mother asked him about "menstrual cycles". I look at my lap, and suddenly become interested in how long my fingernails have grown. Like, seriously, I need a manicure, or something, cause…

Sorry! Getting off track here.

He stares directly at me, and my heart won't stop pounding dramatically. Quit it, heart!

"Well… why?"

It's now or never. Now or never. Now or never. Now or…

"I'M _PREGNANT_!" I blurted out, suddenly.

…Oh chiz. Holy chiz on a chizzle.

Freddie's mouth dropped wide open. The rest of the five minutes, we spent in shocked silence.


	11. Weirdness

_Chapter 11: Weirdness_

SPENCER'S POV:

Whoa.

I think the world just changed its rotation.

How stupid was that scenario?

Not like anything changed dramatically. I chuckle quietly, to myself and continue on with my latest project. The Giant Clock. Mr Tick Tock. Yeah, it's lame. I know, even Carly told me that no one would buy a giant clock sculpture. It doesn't even work. Ha!

Just then, my little sister walks in, carrying two smoothies. I hope one of them is for me.

"Spencer! I got you a little present for you!"

"Strawberry Splat?"

"Of course!"

"Yay!"

I take the smoothie from her and do a little weird dance, before taking a long sip from the straw.

"Hey, I need to tell you something really… important," says the girl, sitting down on the couch.

"Okay. Tell away, little sis."

Everything goes quiet and I'm starting to wonder, by the look on Carly's face, whether or not I want to find out what she's about to tell me. If it's something to do with her "girl problems", I'm outta here!

As I take another long sip of the smoothie, I see her take a deep breath, before yelling suddenly:

"Sam's pregnant!"

The mouthful of smoothie is inhaled slightly, and I cough and splutter it out again. Spit take. For the win.

"Wait… WHAT! WHO? WHEN? HOW? WHAT?"

"…you said 'what' twice…"

"I know I said 'what' twice! I just can't… our little Sammy? Preggers?"

My knees shake, and my head spins. I take a seat on the couch. That feisty blonde had always been a little sister to me, and now she was having… a baby.

"Spence? Hellooo… Spencer Shay? Are you alright?"

"No! I'm not! Your best friend is pregnant!"

"Please, don't shout!"

"I CAN SHOUT IF I WANT TO!"

Carly was taken aback by my sudden loudness. Her eyes went wide, and her lip quivered a little. I knew she was scared. She always did that when I told her that monsters were gonna eat her in the middle of the night.

Good brotherly wisdom, right? Well… at least she knew!

The girl had returning nightmares for three months… but at least she knew about those scary monsters. I remember her being so terrified that her bottom lip would quiver, and she'd almost be in tears.

"SO WHO'S… ooh sorry. Who's the jerk that knocked her up? When I find him I'm gonna…"

"She doesn't know. Or, she told me she doesn't know. I haven't figured out if she's telling the truth or not. This _is _Samantha Puckett we're talking about."

"Well," I say, gritting my teeth together, so it hurt my jaw. "When she _does_ know… I get to beat up this 'dude'."

Smiling at me, Carly stands up and starts walking upstairs.

"Oh, and by the way, Spence… Freddie loves Sam… and Sam loves Freddie."

Before I could question this statement she had just confessed, she was running upstairs and probably into her room to take a long shower. Yep. It's true. The longer the shower, the more worried she is about something. In the case, it's probably relating to… SAM BEING PREGNANT. Oh sorry. Sam. Being. PREGNANT!

Or her two best friends, going from hating to _loving_. Well, that would shock anyone into their showers.

I was right. The world _had_ just changed its rotation.

Whoa.


	12. I Think It's Me

_Chapter 12: I Think It's Me_

* * *

><p>FREDDIE'S POV:<p>

What.

Did she just say what I thought she just said, that very moment? She's… _Pregnant?_

Really?

I can't believe that my ears just heard such news.

Pregnant?

I can't believe my eyes aren't looking away from the girl.

Pregnant…

I can't believe the only thing I want to do right now, is sweep her into my arms and kiss her senseless.

Like... huh? What was that all about?

Sam Puckett is pregna- oh chiz!

Oh chiz, oh chiz, oh chizzy chiz chiz. CHIZ!

… _/…_

_That night. _

_We were both drunk and didn't know what we were doing._

_It was Sam. It had to have been Sam, because Carly had said we disappeared at around the same time and she told us we were pretty much smashed. Must've been all that whiskey. Gibby gave us some beers at first though. _

_Stumbling, after what had to have been my fifth shot of whiskey, into some bedroom, in Wendy's house, I fell on top of someone. They were all giggly. _

_Sam was all girlish and giggly. Never before was she like that. _

_Before I knew it, we kissed. Which turned into making out… which obviously lead to… well… yeah, that. _

_That night. _

… _/…_

…and things are never going to be the same again.

Are they? No, they're not.

Wait. If I tell her that we… 'did the dirty'… and if I told her I was the father… I would probably either:

a) lose something of vital importance (ie MY LIFE!)

b) die

c) die

or

d) all the above

Either way. I was doomed. Unless she already knew about it, or if she didn't know anything about it. I'd be safe then.

"So," I say, pressing the tips of my fingers together. "You're…"

"Yes, dork," replies Sam, avoiding my eye contact. "Please don't make me say it again. It's torture enough."

I notice an unusual sadness in her voice as she talks and I hesitate for half a second before speaking to her again.

Here goes nothing.

"Do you… uhmm. Do you know who… the father might be…?"

Sam snaps her head up suddenly, and her eyes widen.

Well. Good bye life, you have been kind to me. Thank you.

Those beautiful eyes. Then her head shakes slowly, as if to say 'I have no unearthly clue as to who I may have slept with'. I secretly wondered if she already thought about who it might have possibly been.

Mentally I scowled at myself. There was no way that the girl would even consider… me.

That's not being humble or anything. It's just the blunt truth. She _hates _me.

Before we could discuss anything further, she stood up from the couch and walked... no... ran out the door of my apartment.

And like an idiot… I didn't move an inch. Just sat, on my butt, staring at the floor. Until I saw my mom coming back out of the kitchen, with a knowing smile on her face.

"She's pregnant," I whisper, into the silence.

"I know, Freddikins," replies Mom, nodding. "That's why she was here. She came, seeking help and advice."

"…did she happen to mention to you who the... father was…?"

"No. We never-"

"Me," I say, softly. "I think it's me."

I looked down at the carpet, ready for a scolding of a lifetime. But it never came. Instead, mom looked at me, in a way she never had looked at me before. It wasn't a 'you are in BIG trouble young man' face, but more of a 'you are growing up, and I fully respect that' face.

Couldn't have been more taken aback, than how I was right now.

Seriously.

Right now, I could do or say nothing. I stared at the floor, while my mom decided to go and make me some 'tea'. Yes, an actual mug of tea. To calm me down. Although, I knew deep down, it wasn't the right time to just "sit down" and drink freaking tea. I needed to go out and make sure my... I mean, Sam, was out of harms way.

Knowing that girl's constant changing temperament, anything was possible.

Ignoring my mother's protests of my "tea getting cold", I grabbed my jacket and headed out the same door, Sam had bolted out of earlier. But Finding a Sam Puckett in Seattle, was probably like finding a needle in a haystack.

Which, according to most people, is a hard task to accomplish.


	13. Never Tell Secrets To Anyone!

_Chapter 13: Never Tell Secrets To Anyone!_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

I told him, and I really shouldn't have. I told him and then I ran away from him. And now, sitting on the fire escape, feeling nothing but pity and sorry for myself and wondering if I should have stuck with what I originally wanted to do. Keep it all a complete secret. From the world. And my friends.

Hearing a slight knock on the window, I know that it's Freddie, looking for me. I am in no mood to talk to him. At least for today. My head rests on my knees, holding my legs tighter and closer to my chest.

"Go. Away. Freddie," I say, with a hint of my usual fierceness.

"Not Freddie," says the voice. It's Spencer, and he's looking very worried. "But we need to talk."

Five very bad words.

I didn't want to hear them either, and especially from my best friend's older brother. I had a feeling that Carly just may have broken her promise and told someone. Ie, Spencer.

"Spencer?"

"Look at me, please," he said, commandingly. "I know about your secret."

My head snaps up, and I stare at the man, who seemed quite uneasy right now. Usually he'd be jumping up and down excitedly, telling me about his latest and greatest sculpture or whatever. Now, it was awkward.

"…w-what secret?"

"You love Freddie," he whispered, sitting down next to me. "Sam, it's okay. Those feelings are normal."

"I do NOT love Freddie! I don't!"

I stand up and feel like I'm shouting out a lie to the rest of the city of Seattle.

But I know I do. I love him. I've fallen in love with Fredward Benson. I wasn't about to tell Spencer this.

As I stood up, defiantly, the older man stayed where he was, raising his hands in front of him, defensively.

"Okay! But... you are pregnant… am I right?" Spencer questions, raising an eyebrow.

Whoa! Wait, what? How did he…. Carly. I should have known.

Can't tell that brunette girl anything, because she just has to tell everyone, everything. Like they need to know. No one needed to be told anything. In fact, it should have been me telling everyone. If I so desired. Which, currently, I had no intention of speaking to anyone else about this. Freddie and Carly were enough. Now... Spencer knew.

Needless to say… I was pretty pissed off right about now.

"Carly-"

"Don't be mad at her," he cut me off, quickly. "She just wanted to make sure you were… well… safe."

"Look. I know I'm all rough around the edges. I get that. But I do know how to handle stuff, on my own. I don't need you or Carly butting into my life."

It was true.

I almost added Freddie's name to that list, but stopped myself just in the nick of time. The last thing I wanted him to know, was that I had a total crush on the dork. Ugh. Why do I have to keep thinking about him? This was annoying me. To no end.

Freddie Benson.

Just the way his eyes dropped, when I told him. Just the way his mouth, which usually twisted into that weird smirk, curled into a disappointed… pout of some sort. Just the way I could _feel_ how freaking sad he felt at that moment.

"Sam?"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry. But… do you know who the father is?"

The father.

Ugh. If I hear that question one more time, I swear I WILL do something drastic. And it won't be good.

"No. Even if I did…"

"You'd tell me, right? Cause you know I'd hunt the guy down and pretty much kill him…"

Oh, Spencer. Dear, naïve, innocent little Spencer.

"Yeah," I say, again. Lying through my teeth.

"Good."

There was another awkward silence, while I stared out over the city.

... /...

"_Just to get it over with?"_

"_Okay. Just to get it over with."_

"…_and you swear we both go right back to hating each other, as soon as it's over…"_

"_Totally. And we never tell ANYONE."_

"_Never." _

... /...

Never.

Well. So much for never.

Hey. Do you think changing my name and moving over to Guadalehara is still an option? Cause I really think that would be my safest bet right now.

Running away. From everything and everyone. And _never_ looking back.


	14. False Evidence Appearing Real

**_-Hiding IT-_**

_Chapter 14: False Evidence Appearing Real_

* * *

><p>FREDDIE'S POV:<p>

Fear.

This is something I've experienced regularly. It's also something that Sam has never shown.

I'm afraid because…

...because...

Because I think I'm falling in love with her. She's pregnant, because of me. I love her. I LOVE Sam Puckett, and also, she's got my child in her stomach. But now, I've searched through the park, around Ridgeway High and the mall. I even popped into the Groovy Smoothie, to check if T-Bo had seen the blonde girl anywhere.

No such luck.

Just then, my phone rang. I looked at the name, scrolling across the screen and a photo of a certain spazzy artist flicked on and off, until I pressed the 'answer' button.

"Spencer?"

"Hey Freddo. Listen. There's something you should probably know. About Sam."

His voice sounded serious.

"What about S-"

"She's leaving."

My ears must have deceived me. I couldn't have heard that right.

"Leaving! She can't... What about... Spence, stop her! Do… something!"

"I can't. She said she was going home to pack and then-"

Wasting no more time, I hung up my pear phone, shoved it in my pocket and took off up the street. Dodging people, ice cream stands and trees, along the way. I was not stopping until I got to where I needed to be.

Like hell, she was just going to up and leave... and never speak to me (or Carly, or Spencer) ever again! That was NOT happening.

In front of a familiar intercom. I pushed the 'talk' button.

No answer.

Pushed it again. Twice.

"Hello?" Sam's voice came through, all crackly.

"Sam… it's Freddie."

The sound of shallow breathing could be heard, but she doesn't say anything more.

With a click, the door opens, and a run upstairs. Only to be greeted with the same metal door. I knock on it and after some time it swings open to reveal a girl, in a sweater and sweat pants and a smear of purple paint on her cheek.

She must have been painting. I knew that she loved to paint, when she felt upset. Kind of like Carly's shower thing. This was Sam's thing to do. Paint.

When her eyes flickered to meet mine, immediately she slammed the door. I let out a sigh.

"Please open the door Sam," I say, leaning my forehead against it.

"Go away, Fredward. You're the FIRST person on my list of 'people I don't want to speak to right now'."

Her voice shakes on the word 'don't'. I try again.

"Listen. This is going to be a lot harder if you don't let your friends help you."

The door opens suddenly, and because I'm leaning against it I go flying forward, onto the floor. I get up and brush myself off, as if nothing happened.

Looking at the girl, I see she's slowly giving in to that "strong girl" façade. I know she appears it on the outside. But deep down… Sam is just scared. Scared of the people who she knows are nice enough to tolerate her, and accept her as a human being. I know this.

"Come in then," she says, pulling me inside and shutting the door quickly. "Speak."

"…is your mom-" I start to say.

"My mom is currently grocery shopping. Apparently." Sam interrupts me, as she so often would do.

"Okay."

"What do you want, Fredward?"

I shift uncomfortably where I'm standing.

Where do I even begin? I think to myself, and start pacing around the room. _Where do I even begin?_

_Sam, I love you. _

Nope. Can't say that. She's punch me in an unmentionable place. Twice, probably.

_Even though you cause me both physical and emotional pain… I think of you and me as really close friends._

Well, that's a blast from the past. So, no.

"I'm… I may know who the father of-"

"Don't care." Sam says plainly, and goes to sit on a stool and continue painting.

I take my chances and step over to where she had set up her easel and canvas, then folds my arms. My heart is pounding in my ears, or so it seems. My palms are starting to sweat like nothing on Earth. My legs wobble and a breathe in slowly.

"Y-you should care," I reply. Standing right next to her.

This is when it all comes to reality.

Her eyes are flashing red, her nostrils are flaring widely and her mouth contorts, sideways. A scowl appears on her face. Dropping her paintbrush on the floor angrily, she stands up and pushes the easel aside roughly. It lands with a _C R A S H! _onto the ground. I jump back a little. Now, I'm scared. Really scared.

I realize that just maybe… I _probably _shouldn't have said what I said to her. Just a guess.

"Why should I care, Freddie? Huh? Is it because YOU care? I don't think so, dude. Why would you care about something that isn't YOUR problem? This is MY problem. I will DEAL with this BY MYSELF. Got it! I don't need a whiney nub telling me that I should FREAKING CARE! When I know, full well that-"

"I'm the father," I say calmly.

Surprisingly this cuts her yelling, ranting and raving short.

My eyes close, tightly. I brace myself for the punch… kick or y'know, something equally painful, I'm sure.

But it doesn't come.

Slowly, I open my eyes, and see her looking at me. But it's a look I've never seen her give me before.

_Fear. _


	15. Make It Work

_Chapter 15: Make It Work_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

"_I'm the father… I'm the father… I'm the father…" _Freddie's voice echoed inside my head and it wouldn't shut up.

My face was probably very pale by now. As was the boy's face, who was still standing directly in front of me.

At least he could look me in the eye and admit it. At least he had the common decency to come and find the one girl, whom he knew as a bully, feisty and unpredictable, the girl who may have possibly _murdered _him with her own two bare hands and tell her.

I told him my truth. So he told me his truth. Now, it seemed… he kind of… maybe… trusted me. And the feeling was mutual. Funny how that works, isn't it?

"Sam…" he started to say. He was nervous to talk though.

I hold my hand up, silencing him. It was my turn to say something, and like it or not, he was going to listen to what I had to say.

"You're the father," I said, still looking at him. "That means we-"

"Please don't kill me!"

Holding back my laughter with a scoff and snort, I stare at the boy. He is now cowering, with both hands over his head, and crouching on the ground. He reminded me of a mushroom. Yeah. I dunno.

"Get up, Fredward," I say, pulling him up slowly. "I'm not going to kill you."

"Well thank you," he said, half gratefully and half sarcastically. "I appreciate that!"

I give him one of my famous glares and he shuts up immediately.

"I guess you were as drunk as I was, that night at Wendy's party. Probably not as much… since you somehow remember that I was the girl you were with."

"Well-" he starts saying.

"…this is so weird." I interrupt. "It's almost as if…"

My voice trails off.

Freddie sat down on the couch, looking at his hands, or lap. I walk over and sit down next to him.

"…it's not _that_ weird…" he mumbles.

I look at him quickly, and his cheeks go red. I'm sure I'm blushing a little, by now, too.

Did he just say… 'indirectly' that he… _LIKED_ this idea? That he actually thought that _this_ whole situation… didn't bother him? That _MAYBE_ he was thinking of… us… having a baby… and possibly…

Oh Sam, you're a hopeless dreamer. Like he'd ever think THAT.

"What do we do now?" I question Freddie, who only shrugs and remains silent.

It's like he's thinking deeply about something. He's always thinking about stuff though, so it wasn't unusual. Although it made everything all silent.

Awkward silences.

Gotta hate em'.

"Sam…"

My head turns to face him.

_Say my name. Say it again. I love it when you do. _I'm trying to send him this message, using the power of telepathy. Somehow, and scarily… It kind of works.

"Sam, I don't know how… but… we're gonna make this work."

Make _this_ work?

He sounded convincing enough.

I tilt my head slightly, then notice my easel and paintbrush laying on the floor. I slowly stand up and walk over to pick them up. Freddie follows me, and helps me stand up the easel and replace the half painted canvas onto it carefully.

Our hands brush against the other's, and it sets of the blushing again. I slowly pull my hand away.

Suddenly, he grabs my hand and I gasp. A little spark from his fingers, as they touched my fingers, shocked me. We both jumped back from each other, quickly.

_Sparks_.

Freddie looked at me, and I looked back at him.

The apartment door swings open, and in walks my mom. Great timing mom. Not.

"Sam! Sa- Oh, hi Sammy," she says, forcing a nice smile. "What's _he _doing here…?"

As she points at Fredward, he takes another step backward. Any more, and he'll be falling out of our window. It's a long way to fall, too. Trust me, I know. And after doing it once

"_He,_ is Freddie, mom."

Her glare softens, just a little, and I notice that the boy is not so afraid of her now. He takes half a step forwards.

"Excuse me, Mrs Puckett. I was j-just…" he starts saying.

"Leaving!" I say, quickly. "Weren't you, Freddie? You said you had to go to a-"

"A dance lesson," Freddie interrupts, quickly.

I look at him strangely, mouthing the word 'dance?'. But mom buys the whole idea and nods her head.

"Okay. Well, I'm gonna put away the groceries. Sam.. Show your boyfriend to the door."

"Mom!" I retort, and blush fiercely. "Freddie and I aren't…. and she's gone."

It was true, mom had left us, standing together, alone.

Freddie smiled a little and started to walk to the front door. I follow him.

"…dance lesson?" I question, eye brow raising a little.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sam," replied Freddie, with a slight grin. "Oh, and by the way…"

He leans over and brushes my cheek with one gentle swipe. Again, I get the same spark, and _again_, we both jump away from each other, fast. Like we had just got shocked by an electric wire. Or something.

_Sparks. Again. _

"What was tha-" I begin to ask.

"You had paint. On your face," says Freddie quickly, still grinning a little and walks toward the stairs. "Bye Sam."

"Later, Fredweird."

That bright smile of his, will be the death of me. I'm sure. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. Right?

As soon as I close the door, I lean against it, sliding down to the floor and sigh softly. Like how those irritating girls in annoying chick flicks do.

I'm one of them now. And… to be honest… I couldn't be happier.


	16. Gossip Guy

_Chapter 16: Gossip Guy_

* * *

><p>GIBBY'S POV:<p>

Liquid soap!

Sorry, I just was thinking about how awesome liquid soap is, compared to bar soap. I mean, bar soap is so boring, where as liquid soap is… it's just awesome, okay?

Wait. I was going to tell you about the rumor I started. How it ALL began. How I found out about… well…

Would you like to hear the story?

Yes? I thought you might.

First, go get yourself a large bucket of popcorn, second, grab your mom's best wine glass and fill it with your favorite beverage. Ha ha… how funny is that word… _beverage_. Ha ha ha ha!

It means: a drink, in case you didn't know. Beverage. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Got yourself a comfy chair? Favorite pillow? Blankey…? Heyy! There's nothing wrong with having a blankey!

Okay. I'm done now.

On with the story, yeah?

… /…

_I'm gonna take you back to a time where there were no dinosaurs. But there were people… mostly teenagers. Dancing crazily, drinking "beverages" _(ha ha ha!) _and just having an all round, smashing time. _

_Yes. I said 'smashing'. and no. I'm not British. Cool if you are though. I do like the British accent._

_What? The story? Oh, right. My bad. _

_I had just finished checking out Carly - what? She's a good looking female specimen. ANYWAY! I was on my way to the punch bowl, when Wendy approached me. Not strange, since it was her party that she has kindly invited us to. Us meaning Sam, Carly, Freddie and me. _

"_Hey Gibby, you're not shirtless this time!"_

"_Oh yeah. I've kinda grown out of that," I reply, winking at her. "Unless you want me shirtless?"_

"_Eww!" _

_Wendy giggled, and went over to join some of her other "invitees". Oh yeah, I thought. She wants me. _

_Just then, someone knocked into me, their punch spilling all over my shirt, and soaking it. Well now, I was forced to take it off, wasn't I. Sorry about this. A Gibby's gotta do, what a Gibby's gotta do. After ripping off my shirt, I noticed Sam and Freddie, kind of making out with each other. _

_I mean, it was full on steamy! _

_Her hands were sliding over his chest, and his hands were… a little too low to be passed off as a friendly make-out session. _

_Too much information? Sorry. I'll keep it 'G' rated, kids. _

_But, they had to have been drunk. Very drunk. _

_I wipe my face quickly, with the punch stained shirt, and find my way into Wendy's laundry room, which is very small, I must say. I squeeze in there and rinse out my shirt. Yeah. Get it back to the way it was. _

_As I was involved with cleaning, it didn't stop me from hearing some girl and some guy giggling. _

_Slowly, I peeked around the doorframe, only to find… the two enemies… doing something, that I won't mention here, since… y'know… rating purposes. But it was full on, I'll tell you that much. _

_Removing myself from their "displays of affection", I grabbed my dripping shirt, put it on quickly and headed out, back into the party. _

"_Gibby!" said a voice. _

_It was Carly, looking a little tired but a little happy. Drunk too, I presumed. _

"_Hey Carly," I shout, over the music. "Is Spencer taking you home?"_

"_Noooo…" she giggles. "You are…"_

_I am? I thought, and then a smirk appeared on my face. Hawt dawg! _

_As we stumble, or I support the drunk girl as SHE stumbled toward my car, her fingers stroke my hair gently. I refrain from pushing her onto the grass and attacking her with kisses. These feelings!_

_Instead, I carefully sit her down in the back seat, do up her seat belt and walk around to the driver's seat. _

… _/…_

That was when I decided to tell everyone at school that Sam and Freddie were… well not dating exactly, but… you know what I mean.

… /…

_It was just an average morning at Ridgeway High School. For everyone else, that is. Me? I had my little assignment to do. Yes. That's right. It was "spreading the Seddie rumor around the whole school' time. _

_Walking into the locker room, I noticed the one guy, that everyone knew and respected. _

_He was extremely popular, and the girls swooned anytime he'd walk past them. Carly was one of those girls. I remember Sam saying some rude comment about him though. Something I shall not repeat. _

"_Hey Tim," I hissed. _

"_Gibbeh! What's up, little shirtless dude?" Tim replied, loudly, as always. _

"_Shhh! I just wanna tell you that Sam and Freddie…"_

_As he gives me his full, undivided attention, I tell him exactly what I saw on the night of Wendy's party. A little too much, as I recall. Tim's eyes went wide and licked his lips, and I could tell he was impressed with this little tid-bit of information. _

"_Wha- ? No way! Freddie Benson and… whoa! Sam Puckett?"_

"_True chiz, dog. Saw it. With my own eyes. And one more thing… don't tell ANYONE."_

"_My lips are sealed, Gibs."_

_From that simple hushed locker room conversation, it grew into the talk of the school yard. Oh man, did it grow. As rumors often do. _

_They spread like wildfire, and sometimes go waaay out of proportion. I know that now. _

… _/…_

I don't really know why I did it. But it really feels nice to be 'in the loop' for a change. I am almost… the most popular person at Ridgeway. Gossip Guy, that's what they call me now.

I'm the channel for 'what's happening now' and 'the latest and greatest, juiciest scoop'. Trust me. I'm loving it!

_Almost _as much as I love liquid soap. And Carly Shay.

…Oops.

Don't tell her I said that!


	17. The Wrong Thoughts

**_-Hiding IT-_**

_Chapter 17: The Wrong Thoughts_

* * *

><p>CARLY'S POV:<p>

It's been three months since I found out that Sam is pregnant.

You know when somehow you think that everything's going right in your life? That's how I'm feeling right now. Everything is going _just _right.

Sam and Freddie have been spending a little bit more time with each other. Yes, alone. I have to giggle, whenever I say that, or think it. What? It's so darn cute! Them two... together. By themselves. Without me to interrupt any... well... you get the picture.

My bedroom door slams into the wall, and in bounces a very bubbly sounding blonde haired girl.

"Carly! Carly! Carly!" cries an excited voice.

"Sam, what is it?"

"I think Freddie likes me. I mean, really likes me!"

Smiling, I push aside my homework books and stand up to give my best friend a hug. She hugs back softly, and giggles a little. The past couple of months, she had been really girly and overly-enthusiastic. I just love it!

"So did he ask you out on a date yet?" I ask, smirking.

"Uh huh." Sam replied, nodding quickly, and grinning widely.

"…and did you say yes?"

"I'm not stupid! Of course I said 'yes'!"

Cue 'the intense girlish squealing and jumping up and down like idiots' session. Well for me, anyway. For Sam, she had to cover her ears and keep grinning at my excitement for her and Freddie.

I really was happy for both my best friends. It was nice to see them getting along for a change. Instead of... you know... violating one another.

Then I just had a serious thought. I stopped screaming my lungs out and looked over at the blonde, who currently was laying on the 'ice-cream sandwich love seat', kicking her legs up in air in unsustainable glee.

"Sam."

"Yeah, Carls?"

"If you and Freddie are gonna date… don't you think you should tell him about… well.. You know…"

"Oh."

_Oh_? That's all I get as a response. The girl drops her legs and sits up slowly, crossing her legs and facing me. I have a feeling there's some more story behind the "oh". And, I believe she's not going to tell me about it.

Typical Samantha Puckett behavior.

"Oh?" I question, looking at her.

"Yeah." Sam replies, slowly.

"Oh."

Hmm. Did she already tell him? Does he already know?

"Anyways. I better go pick up some more prenatal vitamins. Mrs Benson said I need to take them twice a day. Later Carly."

"Talk to you soon, okay?"

Sam stood up and quickly walked to my bedroom door and probably down the stairs, and most probably left my apartment.

So, we went from excitement, to a hasty exit, on Sam's part.

_What _exactly was that girl hiding from me?

… /…

Later on, I was still working on some homework, when I heard a little knock on my bedroom door.

"Hey you," said the familiar voice.

Turning around from my desk, I see Freddie, walking toward me, then taking a seat on my bed. Is it wrong to say, he does look really cute today? Oh dear…

No, Shay. You can't possibly have a crush on your best friend's … almost boyfriend.

That is so totally messed up, you know.

"Hi Freddie," I reply, quickly turning back around, and trying not to think of my friend as anything other than a friend. "Um. What brings you to my house?"

_What brings you to my house? !_ Could you be any more lame! ?

I hear him clear his throat.

"I'm taking Sam out on a date tonight. I'm thinking Petrosini's. Since we like that place."

"Sounds like fun. Sam will love that. Yay for you guys. Is that all? Okay, thanks for stopping by!" I reply, way too quickly. My face feels way too hot right now. I must be blushing.

Yup. I'm blushing worse than an over-ripe tomato. This isn't good.

"Carly? Are you alright?" Freddie asks, walking over to where I was sitting.

No. No, I'm not alright, Freddie Benson. You being here, is distracting me from my homework and all other thoughts right now! You're cute, you're funny, you're smart… I can't believe I am just noticing you now. I can't believe that the only thing, the only HUGE thing keeping me from kissing you senseless at this moment is my very best friend. Sam Puckett.

Rant over.

Carly Shay. You is messed up, girly.

"Yes. I'm fine, thanks," I say, still far too fast for it to be considered normal.

"Okay?"

I know he's not certain that I'm telling him the truth. Well, I can't say the truth. It'll hurt more than just one person here. Him. Me. And Sam. Who is conveniently pregnant.

Sam loves Freddie. Freddie is obviously in love with Sam, since he's taking her out tonight. To their "favorite restaurant". _Their. _As in "us". As in, _a dating couple._

"Alright. I'm gonna go home. I think mom needs some help with dinner or something. Bye Carls."

Just before he leaves, he hesitates, as thought wanting to say something more. Instead, he taps the door frame with his hand, gives me a cute smile and walks out. Leaving me so confused.

He's just…

Wait!

Hold it! You're not crushing on this guy. You can't! It's so wrong!

Why am I feeling this way? I shouldn't be feeling like this… and towards Fredward, of all people!

Okay. So I'm out of my mind. Lost it. Gone completely bonkers!

I, Carly Marie Shay, shall not destroy the 'romance' between those two.

They're happy together. As it should be.

The happy couple. Even though it's not really official. Yet. And Freddie doesn't know that Sam is 'with child' in her belly, and had been pregnant for three whole months now. Argh! All this is doing my head in!

Oh God.

I think I need to take an incredibly _long _shower. Soon.


	18. Ultimate Questions

_Chapter 18: Ultimate Questions_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

Samantha Joy Puckett is 'hanging out'. With a guy she really likes.

This is way more fun than staying home in my apartment, and painting. Or staying over at Carly's. watching 'chick-flick' marathons for hours on end. She loves them. I hate them.

Figures, I'm the one to be caught right in the middle of one, and not her. Is that what they call _cruel irony_?

I'm laughing so hard. And Freddie is too.

"Okay, okay, okay, so then I say… 'Skunk bags like me, will NEVER go out with jerk faces like you.' and then I walk off."

"He must have been speechless!" Freddie replies, still laughing loudly.

We're both having dinner at 'Petrosini's'. Or, for you 'technical' people, who like the 'technical' word. Freddie and I are on a _date_. Usually, I'd punch someone in the nose for saying that… but…

I don't know. With Fredward… it's just… _different_. Like… he's… not a jerk. You know?

"Oh yeah, he was totally dumbstruck!"

Then the laughter died down, and I look over at Freddie, who was looking at me in a way I had never quite seen before.

Almost as if he wanted to ask me something, really desperately.

But when the waitress came around to our table, to take orders, the shine in his eyes disappeared. We quickly ordered our meals and the girl walked off, to get drinks for us.

Us? Our? We? Sounds like "couple" words to me.

Not that I'm complaining but something seemed to be missing from this whole scenario. I'm not exactly sure of what it was.

"Sam, I wanted to talk to you about something important," said Freddie, his face turning serious now.

"What, nub?" I question, raising an eyebrow.

Yeah. Sorry. Forced habit, calling him a nub.

"It's about…" he lowers his voice suddenly, and whispers. "It's about the baby."

I shrug. "Okay…? So-"

Fredward holds his hand up to silence me. Oh. So the tables have turned, have they? Hmm. Interesting. His face turns an interesting shade of tomato red, and I can't help but wonder where this conversation is going.

"We have to worry about what's gonna happen. Y'know. In the future…"

Future? Can't we worry about that, when it comes?

"…and our baby."

Okay, I missed a whole chunk of his little speech, because my mind flew a million miles away when I heard his say the scary words 'future' and 'our baby'. One idea came to mind. But immediately I shook my head.

I notice the boy opposite me, is kind of suffocating at the moment.

Spit it out, Freddie. Before I strangle you. Not really, because then we can't be together. Yeah. I said it.

Before he could say anything more, the food arrives. Good! Mama's hungry!

"Well, this looks good," I comment, simply.

Freddie just nods, in silence, still looking at me, as I go for a slice and take a huge bite out of it. Yep. The pizza is heavenly as always, Mr Petrosini.

"Sam, will you _please_ stop eating for a second," he begged. "I _really _have to say this."

With my mouth full, I put down the piece of pizza and stare at him. Whoa, I think to myself, he's bummed about something. Either bummed, or he just really needs to get something off his chest.

"Go, Benson," I say, urging him to speak.

Then. All of a sudden- out of practically nowhere, came this:

"We should get married."

"Married? As in… _married_?"

"The baby needs a stable environment to-"

"Benson… we fight constantly… or pretty much constantly. The only thing we have in common… is this thing in here…"

I'm pointing to my stomach now.

He nods in agreement slowly, and… is that… sadly?

"…and I mean… Marriage? I dunno. I mean, it's a little-" I start saying.

"But, don't you think-"

"No, Freddie, I can't… I can't marry you."

Without looking at him anymore, I stand up quickly and run out of the restaurant. Away from his proposal and away from him. Oh and away from the heavenly pizza slice I was eating.

Come to think of it. I really wanted the rest of that piece.

Turning around, I run back to the table, snatch the slice, shove it in my mouth and then run back to the front door of the restaurant.

I did all of this without once glancing in Freddie's direction. I just couldn't bear to see the disappointment in his face.

Walking home, I decide to make my way over to the Shay apartment. I needed Carly. I needed to talk to her about all of this. And quite possibly Spencer. Maybe they could help me.

In the end though…

…the _final _decision was up to me.

'_Did I make the biggest mistake of my whole entire life, by rejecting Fredward's offer?'_


	19. Best Friendship Over

_Chapter 19: Best Friendship Over_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

Running.

Down the street.

No. I'm not running away from home. Although… No! I am NOT running away from home. Or anyone, for that matter. That would be pointless. Because they'd come and find me and bring me back.

I'm facing this head on.

Besides, if I don't tell someone about what happened a whole week ago… I'm going to scream.

Carly… needs to know about Freddie. Well duh, she "knows" about Freddie. But she doesn't know that he's the father of my child. And, since she's my best friend, and we promised to keep no more secrets from each other… she had to know the truth. And I had to be the one to tell her.

I keep walking, and I'm almost at Bushwell Plaza.

My phone rings. A text message, from Carly. It sounds kind of urgent, too.

'**Need to talk to you, asap. Meet me at GS. -C xx'**

How convenient.

As I get to the Groovy Smoothie, I see Carly, sitting at a table and slowly slurping a smoothie.

"Hey Carls, what's up?"

The girl looks up at me, like I'm an alien from Mars, or something. What up with that?

"Sam! Why haven't you and Freddie been talking?"

"We've been talking…"

Sure. Here and there. A muttered hello. And then a muttered goodbye. What! ? It's awkward for the both of us okay!

"Not proper talking," she said, frowning. "I'm getting really worried about you guys."

Okay. Carly, I have something to tell you. Don't freak out. Oh, please, _please _be your usual calm and understanding self.

"Carly. Don't freak out, but there's something important that you need to hear," I say, kind of nervous.

Now I know how Fredward felt, that night, a week ago.

"You know you can tell me anyth-"

This is when I blurt out everything. Quickly. Like a heap of word vomit. It just all comes out.

"Freddie's the father! I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn't really know how to. Then last week, on our date, he asked me to marry him. _Marry _him, Carls! As in, white dress, flower bouquet tossing in the air, walking down the aisle, ring bearers, ministers… I rejected him! I had to! There was no way I could spend the rest of my life-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Rewind and freeze!" Carly shouts, suddenly.

People stop their private conversations and turn to stare at us. But the brunette doesn't take her eyes off of me for even a millisecond. I try to look away, but I can't. her staring is far too intense, to be normal.

"Carly, please-" I begin to say, quietly.

"I don't know," she interrupts suddenly, and her voice has a chill to it. Which scares me. "I don't know what disappoints me more. You and Freddie…. Doing…. Something so stupid like that…. Or you not telling me about it. So much for best friendship."

"But-"

"No! Sam, I refuse to talk to a girl, who obviously doesn't care about her best friend. Her TWO best friends, for that matter."

"I didn't mean to-"

Carly stands up suddenly, and knocks her chair over, to the floor. Uh oh.

"I'm not dealing with you anymore. I've had ENOUGH."

I'm guessing this wasn't what she needed to talk to me about, when she first decided to send me that urgent text message.

My shoulders slump, as I watch her leave.

Great.

I've lost Freddie. And now I've also lost the one person I thought I could always rely on. Or count on, to make things all better again. Nope. Forget that idea, anymore. I'm back to square one.

When I first found out I was pregnant.

All alone.

Slowly, I stand up and ignore the watchful eyes of the audience, that had gathered during Carly and my little 'spat'. Walking out, I notice the one person, that maybe, would care about me to listen to me… and perhaps help me.

Spencer Shay.


	20. Realization

_Chapter 20: Realization_

* * *

><p>SPENCER'S POV:<p>

"Spencer! Spencer! Wait up!"

The voice is familiar. I think I know who it is.

I turn around suddenly, and a small, but fast (and pregnant) blonde haired girl throws herself at me, almost knocking me to the ground. Pushing her off me slowly, I look down and notice some tear stains on her face.

Yep. I was right.

"Sam, what's wrong?"

"Had a fight with Carly… and I haven't really spoken to Freddie… no one cares, Spence. Except, you."

I was taken aback. And stared at the girl in disbelief.

Sure, she fought with Freddie all the time… but when she and Carly fought… that was a whole other kettle of fish. Something definitely was wrong with my little sister for her to be acting like this.

I wondered if maybe she liked Freddie… just a little bit. Maybe? Carly, I mean.

"I need to tell you something, Spence. But it's very important you don't speak of this to anyone."

"Got it," I reply, eyes widening.

Realizing the seriousness of this whole situation, I looked at her, awaiting whatever Earth-shattering confession she had to make.

"It's very important you don't freak out, either."

Don't tell anyone. Don't freak out. Okay, so far, I'm not having the best thoughts about this.

"Okay."

Sam looks into my eyes, and I notice that her blue orbs are dull and lifeless. The usual sparkle of mischief and feistiness is gone from them.

"I know who the father is."

"Y-you… what?"

"It's…"

Her voice trails off, and I see her staring into the distance, over my shoulder and behind me. Her eyes widen and she bites her lip, refusing to say anymore.

As she looks away from me, I slowly turn around to see what has got her like a stunned mullet.

A boy with short brown hair, all spiked up to look cool, was walking this way. I wave and call out to him. I know that little guy.

"Hey Freddo- Ouch!"

I feel a pinch on my arm. Turning to see who it was, I find that it's Sam. Her eyes are trying to tell me something, but telepathy doesn't work on me. Until…

I look back at Freddie, and then at Sam.

'Ting!' Light bulb.

It all clicks. Like the missing piece of the puzzle, had been found, finally. But it wasn't good. No, not good at all. I was ready to kill him. Literally, kill him.

Watch out, Fredward Benson.


	21. Strong Emotions

_Chapter 21: Strong Emotions_

* * *

><p>FREDDIE'S POV:<p>

It had been a week, since I talked about 'marriage' to Sam. One whole week. And she had not spoken to me since.

Officially, I had scared her off. Great. Not.

So maybe I shouldn't have just blurted it out like I had. I should have known that she'd run from the idea of any sort of commitment. It just wasn't her. Like she'd sit still long enough to be tied down, to anyone. Let alone me.

God, she must hate me right now.

I want to call her, and see if she's alright. But every time I go to pick up my phone, a hint of doubt stops me in my tracks.

Hate.

That's the reason. She'll never feel like I do about her. It's just not in her 'system' to love me… like I love her.

Sure. We've been spending so much time together. And laughing, a lot.

I love her. I love her so much, that it hurts.

That's why I'm here, on the fire escape. Our fire escape. Thinking things through. There has to be something that I can do, to make her see the actual reason that I want to marry her.

Not just because of the baby. But because I want to spend the rest of my existence with her.

The thing is, Sam jumps to conclusions. She doesn't give anything much thought. Or when she does, it's irrational and spontaneous.

_Spontaneous. _

Standing up suddenly, I hit my head on the fire escape ladder. My eyes water, and I rub my head slowly, but right now I couldn't care less about how much that hurt. I climb over the window ledge and make my way quickly, to the elevator.

When I realized that it was taking forever, I abandoned my original idea and rushed down stairs.

The lobby was unusually quiet.

It seemed Lewbert, the crazy doorman, had taken a short vacation, as I had not seen him in a while. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He wasn't exactly the _nicest_ person you could come across.

Looking around, before stepping out of the Bushwell Plaza, and I see Spencer and Sam talking. Or Sam is talking and Spencer is listening. Typical, really.

That's when I see Sam look up and stops talking. About a second later, I notice Spencer waving and smiling at me, as if he wanted me in their conversation.

"Hi Freddo- Ouch!"

Sam must have punched him or something, to shut him up. And turned to face her quickly, probably demanding what she hurt him for.

But then, as if a light bulb suddenly switched on, in his brain, he turned his attention back to me, then back to the girl. Then back to me again.

He looked about ready to murder me, where I stood.

Oh crap. He knows, about everything.

Suddenly, not thinking about anything else, that I came downstairs to do, I turned on my heel and ran back into the Bushwell Plaza and bolted upstairs. Spencer, I'm not surprised to say, charged after me, like some angry bull. A _really _angry bull.

I got to my apartment and slammed the door, hearing a scream of pain, from Spencer, most probably.

"Freddikins, what's-"

Slapping my hand over my mom's mouth, I lead her into the kitchen and sit her down, out of harms way.

Time to face the music, I thought to myself, while walking back over to quickly open the door. But I found no one angry… or even remotely a human being on my doorstep. I slowly creep out and into the Shay apartment.

I just entered the house of my current worst enemy… which was probably not the smartest thing in the world to have done right now.

"Run, Fredward," said a scared voice.

It was Sam. Scared Sam. Now, there's something I hadn't seen before. Well, except for when she told me she was pregnant. And perhaps when I told her we should get married…

…don't go there, Benson. Don't go there.

I'm looking at Sam, and her mouth was dropped open, and is pointing to the door, from which I had just entered.

Like she had seen a ghost.

There's a slight weight, pushing down on my shoulder, and I slowly turn to look at who was behind me, only to be greeted with the face of a furious crazy artist man, who had now entered Grizzly Bear, big brother mode.

I motion for Sam to step away, and slowly, she does so. The last thing I want, is for her to be hurt, just because Spencer is being stupid and irrational.

I turn to face Spencer Shay.

His eyes were glinting a dangerous red, by now and I think his hands were about ready to wrangle their way around my neck. They were twitching, a little.

"You will die," threatened the man, in a cold voice. "Now!"

Screams coming from Spencer, and also me, shook the whole apartment. He lunged for my throat, but I dodged him. Then somehow he managed to grab my neck and started to slowly lift me up. My face must have been turning blue, as my lungs were rapidly running out of oxygen. His grip tightened by the second. Like a Boa Constrictor.

"Help," I wheezed, and tried to get his grip to loosen slightly. "Sam, help!"

Sam ran to try and help me and somehow, through all the pain and strangulation, I managed to see Carly come running down the stairs. After seeing her brother, and her best friend, in a bit of a fix, she squealed and ran to rescue… well… me most probably. Sam decided she'd had enough and punched Spencer in the groin. Harshly.

He let go, causing me to fall to the ground in a heap, then he doubled over in pain. Serves him right though, for trying to kill me.

"What was THAT all about! ?" Carly demanded, looking at me, and then back to her brother. "Spencer? Explain yourself!"

"Ask HIM," replied Spencer, pointing right at me and glaring.

"Freddie? What does Freddie have to do with-"

"Spencer's mad because he found out that Freddie is the father of my baby," blurted Sam, kneeling down to see if I was okay.

The man growls, but it turns into more of a groan of pain. Carly is just looking from me, to Sam, to Spencer and back again. Well, she's not flipping her lid, so, I'm guessing she already knows, or her best friend already told her. Or she's a good guesser.

Yeah. No.

I think I'll go with the second option.

While Carly pulls Spencer off into his room, and scolds him for being an idiot, or that's what it sounded like, to me, anyway, Sam pulled me up and sat me down on the couch slowly, and paced around the living room.

Like she was thinking.

"I'm sorry I said no," she said, quietly, and stopped to look at me.

"Sam, it's okay, you don't-"

Her hand raises to shush me. And I oblige.

"Please. I have to ask you this."

Her face goes a little pale, almost as if she's about to be sick, or something.

"What is it?" I question, my voice going all gentle and soft.

There is a little hesitant pause, before she manges to utter the next words.

"Did you want to marry me because I'm pregnant with your child… or because you… kinda… sorta-"

"I love you," I say, quickly. "I'm falling in love with you, Sam. That's why I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Sam. I will do _anything_ to stay by your side… the baby… well, that was a little 'bonus'."

I see her eyes light up, at the word 'bonus'. maybe she thought I thought that having a child was a burden.

Sure it'll be tough.

But together, Sam and I, we'll pull through. _Together. _


	22. Focus and Refocus

_Chapter 22: Focus and Refocus_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

He actually LOVES me! He actually said that he loves me!

_Okay. Sam, focus. Focus._

ARGGGHHH! I CAN'T FREAKING FOCUS! FREDDIE SAID HE LOVES ME!

_…and…. Refocus._

"So, you love me?" I question, sitting down next to him.

"Yes," replies Freddie, not taking his eyes off of me.

Well DUH! How much more stupid could I be? Of course he does, you idiot. Yes, I'm speaking to myself because I just cannot believe how much he-

_…and…. Refocus…. Again._

"So… that means-"

"Only if you want to," blurts the boy, rapidly.

"I think…"

My voice trails off and I get lost in those wonderful eyes of his.

You mean, you KNOW! You know you wanna marry him! Have his kid. Live happily ever after! You know it, Samantha Joy Puckett, don't keep lying to yourself, about your feelings!

_…REFOCUS! …Again._

This self talk, is kinda helping.

"Sam, it's okay," he said, starting to cover my hand with his, but then stops and scratches his knee instead.

"Freddie," I say and gently take his hand in both of my hands. "…I… I…I..."

This is harder than I originally anticipated. Three simple words, yet the three most _difficult _to say. If you have never said them to another person before. Like me.

Just _say_ it, you freaking loser.

I look into his eyes, and realize just how much… he loves me. And just how much… I love him.

"…I…"

_Say it. Now. Before I strangle you. _

Before I could say anything else, I grab his face and plant one big smacker of a kiss onto his lips. At first, I feel him tense up a little. Probably out of pure shock. I'm tensing up too.

Slowly, we both relax into it.

Lips moving against lips, softly, gently, slowly. Creating a bond. Taking things to the next level. My hand finds it's way over his shoulders and wraps around the back of his neck, and I feel his hands slide around to my lower back, pushing me into him, closer. So close, that, when I pressed my hands on his chest, I could feel his heartbeat. And it was pounding, fast.

With him, I finally felt… safe. And wanted.

Okay! So I sound all soft and girly and weak when I say it. But it's true.

If you don't believe me, you may just find my fist making contact with your nose!

ARRRRRGGHHH! FREDDIE BENSON IS KISSING ME, AND I LIKE IT!

_….aaaaaannnndd…_

_Refocus._

Nah. Not gonna happen. It's impossible to focus, and refocus when I'm just THIS happy. And in love.

Oh. Soooooo in love, right now.


	23. Change of Heart

_Chapter 23: Change of Heart_

* * *

><p>CARLY'S POV:<p>

"Just sit in here, and THINK about what you did!" I scold the man.

He sits down on his bed, looking rather ashamed of himself.

Yes Spencer, I thought, narrowing my eyes. Be ashamed. Be very, very ashamed.

After telling my brother off, for almost murdering my best friend, I make my way back out to the living room, and see Sam and Freddie kissing each other.

I try to say something, but no voice comes out of my throat.

Just… nothing.

I look at Sam and then at Freddie. They're happy. They're perfectly happy together, like that.

Who was I to come between such a romantic pair?

I really needed to apologize for storming out on Sam like I did. I looked over at my best friends, and laughed to myself. I guess that could always be done later.

They really were cute as a couple.

Quietly, I crept past the couch, smiling a little to myself, and make my way up the stairs. Let them have some time to themselves. After all, they were in love. And expecting a baby.

A _baby_ for crying out loud!

Let them be happy, Carly Shay. Let them be in love without your interference. No crush was going to destroy the powerful bond these two now had. Together. With each other.

My phone rang.

I looked at the screen, and a crazy photo of Gibby came up. Oh. That's boy. He must have messed around with my phone again. I answer though. God knows I need _someone_ to talk to, after everything that's been happening around here.

"Hi Gib, what's up?" I say, my voice a little too cheerful.

"I was wondering if you… I mean… if I could… uhmm… maybe… come over?"

Why? "Yeah, sure. Bring your homework."

"We're studying together?" Gibby questioned and I could tell by his raised voice that he was quite excited.

"Yes."

"YEE HAWW!"

Uhh….

"Okay. So I'll see you in fifteen minutes then?" I ask the overly celebrative boy.

As soon as I hung up the phone, I felt a little bubbling in the pit of my stomach. But, decided to ignore it, as it was probably nothing worth thinking about.

Right?


	24. Prom Dates

_Chapter 24: Prom Dates_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

Six months had gone past. Since I had found out about me being pregnant.

Wow. Time flies, eh?

In these past six months: I found out I was pregnant, Freddie proclaimed that he loved me and we've been dating ever since, found out that Freddie was the father of my child. Our child.

Both Carly and Spencer apologized to both Freddie and me. For their slight overreactions. Spencer had come to terms with Freddie and I, becoming parents and growing up, much to his shock and horror and Carly had come to terms with her two best friends being in love and dating. She's fine with all that now.

Now, Freddie and I were back in school.

The first thing we heard about, upon returning, was Senior Prom. And the craziness of all preparations.

"Be my date?" Freddie asked, holding tightly, onto my hand as we walked down the corridor.

"You have to ask me?" I tease, and peck his cheek. "Although I'd rather not go to the prom at all…"

The boy smiled at me, as if he already knew I was going to say something like that. Well, I can't say I blamed him. Freddie knew me. And knew all about how I felt about school dances.

Pointless and annoying.

Freddie kisses and hugs me quickly, then heads off to his classroom. Meanwhile, I watch him walk away, while leaning up against my locker.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" Carly squealed, while running up to me.

Well, I could hear her as soon as she burst in through the double doors at the other end of the long school hallway. Her voice was so high-pitched and loud, that it bounced off the rows of lockers.

Plus. People were staring. Even more than usual.

"Oh my God, Sam! Oh my god!" she continued to scream.

"Carly, calm down!" I demand, gripping her by the shoulders. "What the chiz is wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing is _wrong_! Guess who asked me to the prom? Come on, guess! You'll never be able to!"

Before the girl would have a heart attack, right there in front of me, I started guessing a whole bunch of guy names. Carly said no to every one of the suggestions. Or "guesses" as she put it. She kept jumping up and down like a freaking kangaroo.

Seriously. This girl was _over the moon_ excited about her 'prom date'.

Prom.

Ugh, prom. I didn't want to go.

Freddie was insistent though. Something about 'attending the very last school dance before going off to college' or some chiz like that.

I _really _didn't want to go.

"So, who is this 'mystery date', then?" I question, leaning against my locker door.

"Timothy Dentre," she responded, with a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes.

"No way! The incredibly hot football player? !"

I wasn't shocked or surprised. But I was still a little taken aback. Tim was considered a very jerkish kinda guy. And Carly was too naïve to stay clear of boys like that. I guess, I'd be the one to pick up and pieces after the heartbreak. But hey, I'm her best friend. It's what I'm here for.

"Yes way, the _amazingly gorgeous _football player!" Carly shrieked.

Eventually, I joined in her shrieking.

What? It's contagious.


	25. Something Wrong

_Chapter 25: Something Wrong_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

The mall.

One of my least favorite places in the world. I'd rather be at home, snuggled up with Freddie.

Yeah. I said it.

"Carls, I don't wanna be here," I groan and complain.

Trust me. You do NOT want to take me dress shopping. I'm a miserable girl when it comes to that stuff. But. Carly insisted. And as always, I had to oblige.

Why?

Freddie made me do it. Freddie.

I feel my mouth turn into a sheepish grin.

Sounds weird, right? The boy, making me smile like a goofball. Yeah, I thought so too.

"Sam, we need to look super damn gorgeous. And. As your best friend, it is my job to make sure we do."

She had a point. I mean, what was the point in going to your Senior Prom, if you weren't dressed appropriately, and… gorgeously sexy. Yeah. I said it. Are you shocked? You should be. Cause I am.

"Alright, just…" I start to say, as she pulls me into the third shop so far. "…no bows, frills or anything girlishly sickening."

"I got it," says the brunette, waving her hand at me.

Well, it's about time. I was starting to grow pretty tired of hearing me repeat myself to her. Over and over and over again. Trust me. It get's annoying.

"Carly…"

"Shush!"

Shush? Really…?

This girl was _obsessed_ with Prom. Literally.

As Carly flicked through a whole rail's worth of dresses, I sat down on one of the chairs.

"Hey Carls. How long do I have to endure this tortu- I mean… this _fun and excitement_?"

Carly, oblivious to my sarcasm, just laughed and took out a whole range of dresses for both of us to try on.

"Oh, Sam," she giggled. "As soon as we find a dress you like, then we can go get you a sandwich."

Sandwich? My ears perked up at that thought. Well… I couldn't say that Carly didn't know me. A sandwich sounded really good right about now.

"Gimme those," I say, and quickly snatch about four dresses from her.

"Yay!"

Cue the face palm. From me.

Tell me, how can one girl be so damn excited about something so small?

I walk into the change room, close the door and proceed to try on my selection. None of them felt right and none of them looked right on me. It wasn't just me that thought so, though. I walked out with one of the dresses on, and immediately Carly burst out laughing.

Fortunately, oh, I mean _unfortunately _the juice she was drinking, sprayed everywhere. I don't know. It looked funny to me.

Soon, we both were in stitches, because of this one dress I was wearing. Really, it looked horrible. On me, anyway.

Eventually, I took that dress off and put my normal clothes back on. If only Prom's dress code was sweat pants and a comfortable tank top. Yep, that'd be just peachy.

"Okay. So, how many have you tried on so far?" Carly questioned, wiping her mouth and shirt.

"Five."

"…and you haven't found one you like yet?"

"Nope. Carly, this is hopele-"

"No, it's not hopeless, Sam. We are gonna find you something, even if it takes the whole day! Come on, let's go."

Another store.

What was this? The fiftieth one we've been into so far?

Again, I took a seat and watched Carly pick out some other devices of torture for me to try on.

I stood up and…

…that's when it all went wrong.

A sharp pain ripped through my stomach, and I cried out, suddenly gripping myself. Like I was holding on. For dear life.

My best friend lost her smile when she saw me collapse to the ground.

"Sam! Sam, what's wrong? H-help! Someone call nine one one!"

I could hear nothing but panic in her voice.

"C-carly," I say, out of breath. "Call… call… Freddie."

Then everything was a blur. Everyone around me was in a frenzy. I heard voices, I vaguely saw faces, worried faces. Dizzy, and then… black out. Totally blacked out.

Something was wrong. Something was _very _wrong.


	26. Waiting

_Chapter 26: Waiting..._

* * *

><p>FREDDIE'S POV:<p>

The longest day of my life.

"She's going to be okay, Freddo," said Spencer, sitting down beside me.

It would have been more reassuring had his voice not cracked right in the middle of the word 'okay'. that one little 'break' gave so much away. He wasn't as confident as his words were trying to portray.

"Spencer, what if…" my voice trails off.

"Listen," his hand rests on my shoulder. "Sam is a strong girl. If anyone can make it through this, she can."

Strong doesn't necessarily mean she won't be emotionally destroyed if something happens.

I'm not trying to be negative. I don't want anything to happen to the baby. It's ours. For all intents and purposes. We have worked so hard to stay together. Trust me, it's been an adventure. A long, twisty path of ups, downs and around the corners.

"Spencer…" I say, quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I asked her to marry me."

Spencer's head turns to face me suddenly. His eyes widen. Before he can say anything else, Carly shows up, looking like a real train wreck of a mess.

I didn't blame her though.

"How are you Carly?" Spencer asks, as she sits down on one of the chairs.

"I'm scared," she said, in a small voice.

Her face was pale, she brought her legs up to her chest and buried her head into her knees slowly. Much like a small child when they think that there's a monster hiding under the bed on in their closet.

I stood up and walked over to where she was. Placing an arm around her, comfortingly, her head leans onto my shoulder.

"What did she say?" Spencer questioned me, in a quiet, calm voice.

"…she hasn't given me a definite answer yet." I reply, looking to man, straight in the eye.

Carly looks up, and sees both me and Spencer having a staring contest. It wasn't intense glaring or anything.

"What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing," I say, motioning quickly to Spencer to not say a single word about this.

It's not that I wanted to keep it all a big huge secret from my best friend. But. I just wasn't sure where Sam stood on the whole "getting married" issue. Ever since today had begun, and I found out about her being rushed to the hospital, this idea was spinning around in my head.

Sure, it had been three months since I last asked her. Or was it telling? Hmm.

I couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Mr Benson?" a nurse inquired. "You can go in to see Miss Puckett now. She's sleeping, though."

Not being able to reply, I leave Spencer, who is deep in thought, probably, also Carly, who is sniffing a little, and go into the ward.

As soon as I see her, laying on the bed, peacefully. I can't help but tear up. Sam. My one and only.

I sit by the side of her bed, and admire just how beautiful she really is.

A drop of warm salty water runs down my face and I reach over to take her hand, gently. Caressing it, stroking it, I close my eyes.

"I love you, Samantha Puckett. I always will love you, no matter what," I whisper. "I'm staying here, with you. I'm not leaving or abandoning you. I can't. I won't. We will get through all of this... together."

Standing up slowly, I lean over, pull some lose curls from her face and press my lips to her forehead.

I sit down, pat her hand one more time, and then hear some footsteps. A small knock at the door, makes me turn around, and I see Carly, standing in the door frame, looking too weak and fragile to even stand anymore.

Neither of us, nor Spencer, got any sleep for a whole twenty-six hours.

Not like I could sleep, with Sam being in the hospital and the mere possibly of- well… let's just say… I couldn't go to sleep when someone I deeply care about is laying in a hospital bed.

"Is she-" the brunette tries to say, I interrupt her.

"She's just sleeping. I think the doctor had to give her some strong pain killers to put her to sleep. You know how our Sammy is a fighter…"

I crack a weak smile, but Carly isn't paying attention.

So, leaving her to talk to Sam, alone, I walk back out to where Spencer is.

It's like there's something he really wants to say. But can't say it. Maybe it's to do with the whole 'marriage to Sam' thing. Maybe it's the 'Sam being pregnant' thing. Maybe it's not even related to Sam at all.

"You really love her, don't you, kiddo," he says, not looking at me.

"With all my heart and soul, Spence."

"I see that."

Again. Something he wants to say, is being left unsaid. I sit down next to him, slowly.

"Spencer," I say. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Then why do I feel like you're keeping something from me?"

"I'm not."

Okay. So I really want to know what he's hiding. For now, I let it slide. Because one thing matters for now and that is…

…making sure Sam gets all better.


	27. Sleep Takes Over

_Chapter 27: Sleep Takes Over_

* * *

><p>CARLY'S POV:<p>

Crying.

Sometimes once you start crying, it's hard to stop.

For a whole hour, I cried and cried and cried. Until I had no more tears left.

Bending over her sleeping body, I made the sheets all soaking wet. Yes, because I was crying a lot. I couldn't help it. Here was my best friend, suffering… and I couldn't do anything to help.

I felt incredibly useless.

"Hi Sam," I say, sniffing quietly. "Hope you're feeling better."

To make things worse… when Freddie had his arm around me before… it felt really nice. A little _too_ nice.

No.

I wasn't going to ruin this relationship between my two best friends, just for my own selfish needs.

I wouldn't. I shouldn't.

So I won't.

"I know Fre-Freddie misses you. A lot… We all miss you. Please wake up soon. I need you, best friend."

"Is she okay?"

Spencer's voice startled me so much, I jumped violently, even though it was quiet and held back from its usual loud and obnoxious volume. He was always so excited about things. Hence the loudness and obnoxiousness all the time.

"Asleep," I reply, halfheartedly. "She's going to be alright, though. She's got the heart of a bull…"

Heart of a bull.

Although I sound reassuring, there's a part of me, a part of my heart that is kind of breaking for Sam. It knows, somehow, what is going to… or most possibly will happen... Not to Sam, but to the baby.

I can't help but feel horrible for thinking such a thing. It makes it a lot worse when my brother lays a comforting hand on my shoulder. It only starts up a fresh batch of tears, to come falling down my face and now into his shirt. Soaking it.

But as he rocks me in his arms, back and forth, slowly, his chin resting on my head carefully…

…it feels warm and safe. Secure.

"Kiddo, everything is going to be fine."

But was it really? Or was he just saying that because he felt he needed to say something uplifting and positive?

"I hope so," I reply, uncertainly.

I was feeling like that little girl, twelve years ago, who believed that her brother was being serious that a monster was hiding under her bed, or in her closet. Yes. Me.

I walked out, leaving Spencer behind to have a little chat to Sam, well, sort of a chat. Seeing as she was sleeping, she couldn't respond to anything he may have said to her. Sitting down next to Freddie, I can't help but look at him and notice how handsome he really is.

Carly! What is wrong with you? I'm yelling at myself, internally. Mentally I felt like I was going insane.

Freddie had his head buried in his hands. Either crying, or thinking really hard about something. Or. Maybe both at the same time.

I don't want to interrupt him, so I lean my head against the wall, softly and close my eyes.

"Carly. I think I should tell you something."

His voice. It's... different. Strained and exhausted sounding.

"Hmm?"

My eyes are still closed, and I feel sleep take over my body. Slowly but surely.

"Well, as you know Sam and I are going to be parents…"

"Oh… Yeah…"

As he talked, my eyes flickered open slowly, but then grew heavier… and heavier. Until I felt that staying awake was just not an option right now. Spencer, Freddie or I hadn't gotten any sleep for the past twenty seven hours, and it was starting to take a toll on me.

Before I knew it, the world went dark, and…

...blissfully unaware of what Freddie was telling me, I was nodding off and entering a place where nothing bad could ever happen.

Dream land.


	28. It's Kinda Sorta Like Deja Vu

_Chapter 28: It's Kinda Sorta Like Déjà Vu_

* * *

><p>SPENCER'S POV:<p>

Sam.

Perfection isn't always what it seems, on the outside. Just like when I look at the blonde girl, and she appears boyishly rough and tough. When you spend a couple of hours, to get to know her… deeply… I found out… she's just a girl. More insecure about certain things. She seems to be less courageous than other girls her age.

But when it counts, she's there for her friends. And when it counts, she can make you feel better.

… /…

_A year ago._

_On the couch, she lay. Undisturbed. A half-eaten fatcake still gripped in her small hand and the crumbs speckled on his soft looking lips. Her mouth was slightly opened, but no snores escaped. _

_I just watched her, intently. _

_Sitting on the opposite arm chair, and staring at the girl on my couch. I even remembered what she had said, yesterday. _

"…_if I didn't have a little crush on you, you'd be falling for my 'bat in your face' bit."_

_Little crush. As in "little" and a "crush"? like the "little crush" I had on her? _

_Okay. This was weird. _

_It was getting really late, and I was sure Sam needed to get home. So, foolishly, I shook her awake. Or tried to. _

_Without warning, her hand releases the fatcake, or half a fatcake and then grabs my arm and holds me in some kind of a lock. Now, I was scared. Actually, terrified. Because this girl, as I had seen too many times before, could snap an arm in half. _

"_Please don't break my arm!" I cried out, suddenly. _

_A laugh. Not a sneer or scoff, like she'd so often do, to so many of her victims. _

_I turn my head around and find only her face extremely close to mine. Our noses were now touching slightly, and her lips pressed against mine. Slowly. _

_All chapped and sweet. I was just enjoying this way too much. Waaaay too much._

… _/…_

Peaceful. For once, the feisty blonde looks… well… not feisty.

Not that I didn't like her spunk, and her obnoxious behavior. And the way she just came over to my apartment, unannounced, only to help herself to the contents in the fridge.

"Sam. Where are you?" I question the sleeping girl. "I… we need you."

My hand hesitates, and I wonder if it's worth me holding her hand gently. Or maybe even… I sit down and stare at her beauty. I won't deny it. She looks like such a woman, with her developed body… and curves. In the right places.

No! Bad artist! You can't be thinking improper thoughts like that!

I had to get out of here. Now.

Turning quickly away from Sam, I go and find Carly and Freddie talking to each other.

Well, actually, no. My little sister is sleeping and Freddie is staring into space. He's not paying attention to the pretty girl right next to him. As he once would have done, years previous.

Long ago were those days.

"Freddo," I say, probably looking as tired as I now felt. "I need some fresh air. Maybe you should-"

"Yeah. Thanks Spencer." Freddie replied, softly.

He stood up slowly, and made his way into the ward where Sam was still sleeping. Or so I assumed, since those painkillers must have knocked her out completely.

"Carly. Carly… Carly!"

She jumps right out of her seat and lands promptly on her butt, on the floor. She can sometimes be so clumsy, in the cutest of ways. That's my baby sister, for you.

"What's going on? Where am I?" Carly asks, sleepily.

"You're in the hospital. You fell asleep."

"Hospital? Sleep? Sam!"

"Sam is still fine, kiddo. I just went in to see her. She's absolutely… _fine_."

"Good."

Out of the corner of my eye, I can sort of see Freddie and Sam, in the room. He's holding her hand and kissing it softly, speaking in a low hushed voice. Then I turn to face Carly again, who's looking at me like I'm some sort of weirdo.

I nod slowly at her, and shove my hands into my pockets.

Really needed some fresh air.

… /…

_Sam leant over, twisting me around and pushing me down, so I was lying underneath her. _

"_Sam," I said, gently pushing her off me. "What are you doing?"_

_As though she'd only just realized what she was in the middle of doing, she sat up and then stood up, wiping her mouth and started fixing her clothes. She brushed her hair behind her ears and looked at me. Just looked._

_Then, turned on her heel and walked to the door, opening it quickly. _

"_I'm sorry," she mumbled, without looking at me this time. "Truly, I am."_

_Without waiting for me to say anything, and really, I just couldn't get any words to form inside my brain and come out of my mouth. Yes. It was that shocking. The door closed behind her. _

… /…

Sighing a little, I make my way from the waiting room and across to the elevator. When I step inside, I see my sister following me inside. She still looks half asleep. And I don't blame her either. It's been about twenty nine hours that we haven't gotten any sleep. Whatsoever.

Well, she got a couple of hours, probably. I didn't though.

"Spencer," she whispers, leaning against the back wall slowly.

"Hi," I say.

A weakened smile was slowly spreading out across my face. Somehow, being in an enclosed space… with Carly… it was kind of…

…oh man.

The girl cocked her head to one side, slowly walking up to me and pressing me against the wall slowly.

Uh oh.

I was starting to… sort of… enjoy her attention.

Double uh oh.

"Come closer." Carly whispered.

"I really don't think-"

She was getting closer. And her mouth was twisted into a smirk of sorts.

"You talk too much."

"Well really I-"

Carly's mouth crushed against my own, quickly and roughly. My lips kind of moved under hers a little. Not really kissing back. But… somehow… I actually wanted …. To?

Weird.

Before I even thought about what was even happening, she pulled away suddenly. Her face was pale, and her mouth was dropped open in shock. That's when I knew. Mistakes were made. By far.

As soon as the elevator door opened, about five milliseconds later, she ran out of there, a fast as a lightning bolt. I have never seen Carly run so fast.

My little sister kissed me.

_Kissed _me!

Oh…

…chiz.

Now I _really _needed some fresh air. And… perhaps a STRONG alcoholic beverage.

Déjà vu, much?


	29. The UnInevitable

_Chapter 29: The Un-Inevitable_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

Slowly. My eyes flutter open.

That morning, as I peered out the window of my hospital bed, I notices the day was gloomy, stormy and horrible. Couldn't say I didn't disagree with that. Although, I must say, I was feeling a lot better.

Looking across the room, I notice Freddie, still awake, but about ready to pass out at any moment too.

Had he stayed awake all this time? For me? For our baby? Something inside my heart, warmed slightly.

"Sam," he said, voice all crackled from lack of sleep. "You're awake."

I'm going to say, that, pointing out the obvious… was a side effect of tiredness. I gave him a weakened smile, just to say 'I'm okay'.

I lied.

Not okay. So not freaking okay.

Something's wrong, I just know it. Something's gone terribly wrong inside my stomach. Something is just not good.

The boy walked over to where I was laying down, and knelt down, beside the bed.

"Freddie," I said, looking into those gorgeous brown eyes of his.

"I have something to tell you," he whispered, pulling a strand of hair away from my face. "It's something I should have said… probably five or even six months ago."

I struggle to sit up, but he shakes his head as if to tell me to stay lying down. I oblige and stop moving.

"What is it, Fredward?" My voice is weak and soft. Quite unusual really.

"I-"

The doctor walks in, his head bowed slightly. This interrupted everything.

I scowled.

"I am grieved to inform you, Miss Puckett-"

Grieved? As in… _saddened_, _depressed_, _grieved_?

No. This is not happening. To me. To my precious baby.

No.

The tears threaten to fall from my eyes, blurring my vision and thoughts. And concentration of what the doctor was saying. I lost it. Completely.

Apparently…

…Bad news. _Really _bad news.

"Your baby is-"

I stick my fingers in my ears and watch Freddie's face go from slightly amused, to a fallen, sad expression.

"Don't say it. Don't. I'm NOT listening. La la la la… la la la…."

"Sam," says Freddie, trying to pry my fingers out of my ears. "Please, listen to the doctor."

I start trembling, and somehow I know that the worst I'm expecting to hear, is definitely… the worst thing anyone… any pregnant person… could hear. But I scream in denial.

"No! I won't! I won't listen to that idiot! My baby is fine! Tell me. It's fine! The baby-"

"Sam." Freddie cut my outburst of anger and frustration short.

He looked at the doctor.

The doctor shuffled where he stood. Maybe he didn't quite appreciate being called an 'idiot'. But I didn't care. All I wanted to hear was that nothing was wrong with my baby. And that we'd all live happily every after.

Yeah. Like that was ever gonna happen.

I just stared out the window, thinking about rain. Rain. Cold, wet, soaking drops of rain. Making puddles for people to jump and splash around in. Happily. Carefree. Forgetting all the worries, and just… laughing.

I then turn and look at the doctor.

The man's eyes flicker nervously, and his face looks way too sorrowful.

"I'm sorry, Miss Puckett. It… didn't make it. Your baby is… dead."

No.

No.

No!

This isn't real. Tell me I'm dreaming, or that I'm having a freaking nightmare!

Fredward was shocked.

I, just glared at the ceiling, the tears still threatening to fall.

Let them, I thought. Let them fall.

My head was just spinning out of control and the world seemed to stop in its tracks. I felt a hand grasp mine slowly. That was Freddie's hand. A small comfort.

Tears spilled from my eyes, stinging them slightly and then rolling over my cheeks slowly.

I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Or what the doctor had just said.

"No," I whisper, gripping Freddie's hand tightly.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," said the doctor, finally, and walked out the room.

It was just Freddie and I. Alone.

This time he stood up and sat down next to me. This time I sat up, with a little difficulty. I notice that Freddie's eyes are also glazed over with tears. He slides both his arms around my shaking shoulders, my shaking body and I sob into his chest.

For once… he was the strong one.

And I was weaker than him.


	30. Together Forever

_Chapter 30: Together Forever_

* * *

><p>FREDDIE'S POV:<p>

Wow.

Just… wow.

I had never seen Sam look so… broken. So heartbroken.

Neither of us spoke to each other for a little while. But I knew that I couldn't stop holding her, close to me. She needed me, whether she liked it or not. She _needed_ me. My comforting, my strength… my love.

I still love her. Deeply.

As she sobbed into my chest, as her whole body shook, overcome with sadness, I felt her heartbeat slow down.

"_Sam. I love you. With all my heart and soul, I love you."_

That's what I wanted to say to her. Oh so desperately.

But now... now just didn't seem like the right time to say it.

"Freddie," she says, her head still pressed into my chest. "I… uhh... thank you… for everything."

Why did that sound like a 'goodbye'?

Goodbye.

Was Sam trying to… say goodbye? To me? To... us?

After everything we had done together, she was just going to... throw it all away?

"W-what do you mean?" I question, unable to keep the quiver out of my voice.

"I mean…" she pulls back from my arms. "…you're done here. You don't need to care for me. Anymore."

"Don't need to...? Sam, I still care for you. Very much. I'm not going to leave just because…"

I don't want to finish, because I notice Sam's face. Sad expression painted all through her eyes and her curled lips. Those lips. I'd do anything to just reach over and kiss her again. Kiss away her tears and kiss away all the fears she still has.

The _fears. _

Sam once told me the story of how her father had left. Abandoning both her and her mother. He had taken her twin sister, Melanie. And he had just… left them.

That was what happened to me and my mother. My father, just upped and left the both of us. To fend for ourselves.

"I think it's best," she says. "If we-"

"Don't do this, Sam." I interrupt her.

"Do what?"

"Push me away. We need each other. We need-"

"I don't need ANYONE, Benson. The sooner you realize that… the better."

That was it. I couldn't take it anymore.

She was blinded by grief. She was blinded by this... clouding depression. Because we had lost the baby.

But that shouldn't restrict me from doing what I was about to do. Or what I should have done a long time ago.

I stand up suddenly and face her.

"I LOVE YOU, SAM! I CAN'T LEAVE YOU. IF I DID, I'D REGRET IT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! FOR GOD SAKES. I KNOW YOU'RE SAD RIGHT NOW. I KNOW WE LOST OUR BABY, BUT... STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME LEAVE YOU. CAUSE IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN!"

Sam was taken aback.

So was I.

I can't believe I just yelled at the one girl I truly care about.

"You love me?"

Her voice was faint, and her eyes widened, as she looked at me. Feeling kind of bad for shouting out my confession, like I just did, I sit back down next to the girl and take both her hands in mine.

"More… more than you'll ever know," I say, calmly and quietly.

"Freddie, I-"

"It's okay Sam. This is going to be a hard time… for both of us… but… we can get through it… together."

Sam nods her head slowly, and I hug her slowly.

"Freddie," she repeats. "I do have to ask... t-tell you something."

"Sure," I reply, looking into her eyes.

Her hands clasp together and her fingers twist around each other. Like she was really nervous about something.

Wait.

Nervous?

"You know… how you asked me… that… question… a couple of months ago?" Sam asked, avoiding my eye contact.

"Question?" I reply, knowing full well what she was talking about. But pretending I didn't.

"The one where you…"

Sam was really struggling to say what I wanted to hear. I could tell. Her face was slowly going pink, and eventually, it went red. Very red.

Oh my God. She was blushing.

Sam Puckett, was blushing.

"It's okay." I say, squeezing her hands gently.

"No, it's not! I want to say this. I need to say it! If I don't-"

"Sam, seriously," I pull her chin up, so she can't look anywhere else but into my face. "I know."

"Freddie… please," she replies, shaking her head out of my grip. "You have to know… I do love you. Very much. And… I…"

Again. She doesn't finish her sentence.

I don't say anything, and wait for her to continue, this time. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps she did need to say it. Alright, Fredward. Let her speak. Let the blonde headed demon say what she "needed" to say. And what I've been dying to hear for… Three months now.

Sam looks over at the door, and then back at me.

This was it. She was going to say it.

"Yes," said the blonde, slowly.

"Yes?" I ask her, kind of foolishly.

Really stupid to question something that Sam says. Ever.

"No."

"Oh."

Was that a 'yes' or a 'no'?

Did she want to… marry me?

"I don't know, Fredward," she says. "Maybe we should wait… but-"

"But you're not sure if we'll last… as an engaged couple..."

"Exactly."

Wrapping my arms around her slowly, I feel her starting to cry again. She really needed me right now. As far as I knew... I needed her just as much, if not more.

"Sam, we're gonna work it all out. It's not… we'll be together… for a long time."

"I'm… scared."

It was as if a little girl was clinging to her mother, instead of going to sit on Santa Claus's lap. I had never seen her act this way. Since she was always trying to sometimes nearly kill me with her shoes, baseball bat… butter sock… you know, things like that.

My arms tighten around Sam. I'm not letting her go. For anything. I don't care what other people say.

"Sam," I whisper. "Sam, will you… be mine, forever?"

The girl's arms loosen their grip and then her head tilts up, to look at me. Tears still in her eyes, making the blue all shiny and sparkly.

"Yes."

Leaning down, I kiss her, pressing my lips against hers softly. Her hands slid around the back of my head, pushing me a little closer, most likely so she could kiss me back. And, oh man, did she kiss me.

We stayed like that, holding each other, kissing each other, for what seemed like an eternity.

Hey.

I wasn't complaining.


	31. Mission Possible

_Chapter 31: Mission Possible_

* * *

><p>CARLY'S POV:<p>

A month had passed by. Quickly.

It's like my life decided to turn inside out, upside down and all weird.

My best friends in love with each other, even after losing their precious… well… "baby". Spencer going all quiet, except the occasional word here or there. And Gibby, pretty much disappearing of the face of the Earth.

Oh yeah. And I kissed my brother.

Yuck!

Of course, I'd gotten over it.

I think he had too, since he'd been dating a really cool girl. Straight red hair, fairly tall and slender. She definitely helped Spencer with a workout regime.

"Work Out".

Which included, uhh…. Things too inappropriate to mention right now. Also very awkward to talk about.

Moving on !

The girl's name was Ariel, she was really pretty, nice and… happy, like all the time. I could just see those two getting married on of these days. Spencer and Ariel. So cute together.

Sorry, I'll stop gushing over them now.

Spariel! So cute, so adorable. So irresistibly darling… you could just eat them both up!

Uhm. Oh dear. I'm out of control.

Speaking of out of control… enter, Sam and Freddie, bickering with each other, as per usual. Wait... what?

_Bickering? _

"Okay. How can you like ham more than bacon? Seriously!" Sam said, as the door flung open.

"I didn't _say _that I liked ham MORE than bacon. I just-" began Freddie.

"Yes you did! Don't lie!"

"No, Sam," sighed the boy. "I said, that ham works better on sandwiches."

Oh my goodness!

I never thought I'd say this... but...

YYYYYYAAAAAHHHOOOOOO! Praise the heavens! Praise the Lord! Praise the beavecoon! ...uhmm... okay, maybe not the beavecoon... but...

Oh my God!

They're being "semi" normal again! They're past the ... depression.

Sam puts a finger on her chin, as if pondering what Freddie had just said.

Well, maybe Freddie's right. I mean, it's less common to put a cooked meat into a cold sandwich. You know? Bacon goes way better with eggs. Or on toast. I smile at my friends, and I'm actually happy for them.

Genuinely happy.

Really. I am. Seriously. You can't see this grin on my face… but it's truly real. Truly really very happy.

"Well… that _may _be the case," replied Sam, finally. "But bacon is still better than ham."

Oh Sam.

"Hi you guys," I say, a grin spreading across my face slowly.

"Hey Carls," they both said simultaneously.

It's nice that they don't ignore me, like they used to, while arguing. Endlessly.

"How are you?"

"Yeah, good," replied Freddie, and looked over at Sam, who seemed to have gone into 'day dream land' or something.

This had been tough on her.

First couple of weeks were the toughest for all of us. She didn't say one word, and she refused to go back to school. Can't say I didn't blame her, though.

The third week, she started talking a little bit. And her appetite kind of returned. I was still worried though.

Now, the fourth week, the blonde was, pretty much, back to "normal". whatever "normal" meant. She was eating much to her usual standard and also back to teasing Freddie…

However.

No matter what anyone (Me, Freddie or… strangely enough… Spencer) said to her, though, she wouldn't cry. Or that I saw. Knowing Sam, she would be curling up in her bed, and most likely cry her eyes out. When no one is around to watch.

Sam and feelings, and revealing feelings, just didn't mix well together.

On the other hand, Freddie had been, not really "happy", but, just trying to support Sam the best way he could. Today, though… there was a new found 'spark' in his eye, I'd never seen in the past couple of weeks.

This kind of felt weird to me.

That he could comfort my best friend in a way I'd probably never fully understand. Sure, I loved her. Like a sister. But… something about Freddie's love… it just… clicked more… with her.

"Hey, Carly, how's the Prom prep coming?" Sam asks.

Well, that was out of the blue and spontaneous. And quite out of character.

"Oh," I reply, taken aback, by the sudden question. "Prom?"

"Yeah, prom. You know. When girl's are forced into torturous dresses and heels, and have to dance with loser guys."

"Oi!" Freddie cried out.

Probably offended by that last remark.

Whoops. Sorry Freddie. Uhh... not really... Sam should be sorry for saying that though. Oh well.

"Oh, not you, baby," she quickly reassures him, with a pat on his arm. "You're awesome."

I have to stifle a giggle here.

Just looking from Sam's weakened smile and to Freddie's expression of 'if you say so, dear'. It was a little amusing.

But about Prom. The school had to cancel it. In fact, it was meant to be when Sam was in the hospital. But that wasn't why Ridgeway had to postpone the event. It was because the hall they booked… was mistakenly double booked. So they cancelled.

Why? Because I told them to.

I wouldn't let my best friend miss out on the one night that would be magical and much like a Cinderella moment. Without the mice. And the pumpkin. And the fairy Godmother….

…okay!

So it'd be _nothing _like Cinderella.

Anyways!

I asked Principal Franklin, to let the other school have it. We changed the date to a month after.

"Why do you ask?" I question the girl.

Freddie's head goes from looking down at the floor, to up at Sam, who is shrugging hopelessly. I think she's crying out for a mani/pedi session. Just a girly day for us girls. I mean, it's not ever, you hear Sam talk/ask about a school event. Like prom.

"It's just-"

"You know what, Sam," I say, looking at her. "Let's make a girly fun day. Just us two. No… boys allowed…"

Freddie chuckles, and Sam shows a hint of a smile at that.

My mission, and I choose to accept it. Make Sam laugh again. She hasn't laughed for… four weeks now.

She has the most melodious, beautiful laugh you ever did hear. And when she throws her head back, shoulders shaking, her curls bouncing… she almost looks… like she's happy.

Truly really very happy.

Definitely worth taking time, out of my 'organizing' schedule for Prom, and just go have some girly fun with my best friend. Even if she thinks that she doesn't want to, I know, deep down… her heart is crying out for some "bonding girl time".

Am I wrong, for thinking that?

Oh, I don't think so. It'll be fun!


	32. Start to Begin Again

_Chapter 32: Start to Begin Again_

* * *

><p>SPENCER'S POV:<p>

I'm in love.

But it's only been a week and a half. Who cares when you're talking about being 'in love', right?

I met her while going to the gym. Yeah, I thought I needed to take my mind off of…

...everything that had happened in the past month. And a half.

… /…

_I was in the middle of some sit ups, and my trainer decided to make me do more than originally planned. Instead of fifty, it was doubled to a hundred. At first I thought I was gonna die. But then…_

…_the door of the gym opened, and that's when I saw her. _

_Bright red, shiny hair falling gently to her waist, big sparkly grin on her face as she jogged casually over to a group of girls. Most likely her friends. _

_I couldn't help myself but stare in wonder, at this magnificent, beauty before me. _

_She was a piece of artwork, that's for sure. _

"_Are you done staring?" Phillip enquired, a smile plastered on his face. _

"_Who-" I start to ask. I'm interrupted. _

"_That's Ariel. She comes in here, every day." _

_Ariel. Like in that Dingo movie… 'The Tiny Half-Girl Half Fish'. One of Carly's favorite movies, of all time. I must admit. I kind of enjoyed watching it with her, when she was seven. _

_But that's beside the point. _

_That girl… was amazing. She was just… amazing. And…_

_Oh. My. God. _

_She was coming over this way. _

_Be cool, Spence. Be. Cool. _

"_Yo, Phil," I say. "Can you get me a towel?"_

_Phillip looked at me weirdly, I motioned quickly at Ariel, who was fast approaching us, and the guy nodded and smiled knowingly, and made himself scarce. _

"_Hi, you must be new, since I haven't seen you here at this gym before. My name's-"_

"_Ariel. Yes, I know. I'm Spencer."_

_I stuck out my hand, and she shook it slowly. _

_The girl looked a little surprised but then smiled sweetly. Wow. I thought my heart was going to just explode out of my chest. She was just so beautiful. _

_Somehow I knew… this was the start of one… amazing friendship. And perhaps even… relationship. _

… /…

Ariel. Such a pretty name, for a stunningly pretty girl.

"Good morning," I say to the girl, draped over my chest.

"I thought we could go on a picnic. It's such a beautiful, wonderful day. Don't you think?" Ariel says, brightly.

"Sounds nice."

I smile. She's just so upbeat, bubbly and happy. Very happy all the time.

"Okay. Let me go get dressed."

"I'll get the food for our picnic then."

"That'd be awesome. Thank you Spencer."

How great is her attitude?

With a little wave and a bright, dazzling smile, she skipped into my bathroom, to take a shower. I made my way to the kitchen. There stood my giant clock sculpture, all ready for the Mayor to come and pick it up.

Yeah… don't ask.

After making some sandwiches and putting some strawberries aside, I grabbed the picnic basket, and filled it up with the food. There were some cupcakes that Carly must have made the previous day. So I packed them into the basket as well.

Now everything was all ready for our little picnic.

Ariel walked out and ran over to me, hugging me tightly, from behind and reaching around to kiss my cheek softly and quickly. I spin around, and grab her waist, making her giggle. I love doing that. Then plant a long, gentle kiss onto her lips. Her arms wrap around me, pulling us closer together.

Today was going to be a good day.


	33. A Real Girly Day

_Chapter 33: A Real Girly Day_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

Deep down, every girl just wants to be treated like a princess.

"So, then. Tim goes: 'Wow, you're looking pretty today'. And like a total moron, I blush! Sam! I don't say anything. Like my mouth and my brain just weren't functioning together!"

"Oh my God."

Carly giggles and takes a sip of her coffee. I play with the lid on top of the cup of my coffee. Strangely enough, I can't concentrate today.

I think I know what's bothering me.

My best friend doesn't know that Freddie and I are… well… kinda engaged.

We decided to not make it public just yet. And I told him "no ring" either. No, I'm not ashamed. It's just… we want to keep it secret. At least until we graduate at the end of the year. Or… Fredward graduates. And Carly graduates.

I've missed so much school this year. More than usual, I mean. I'm most likely NOT graduating.

What?

In case you don't know who I am. Hi, Sam Puckett. I skip school pretty much all the time. But ever since… well… being pregnant… then… uhmm.

Well… you probably already know what happened with the baby…

…Sorry. Just give me a minute here.

"Have you seen how happy Spencer is, these days?" Carly comments, out of the blue.

"Yeah. New girlfriend. Ariel, right?"

Gotta admit. That chick is really pretty. With her shiny long red hair.

I take a sip of my coffee now.

"Those two are totally gonna get married someday."

I do a spit-take, and almost choke. Carly looks at me, then gets up and hits her hand on my back, hard.

"You okay?" Carly asks, looking worried. "What _was_ that?"

"A spit-take…" I reply, mopping my mouth and then the table with a napkin.

"But-"

"Carly. I'm fine. Just… a little surprised, that's all."

My friend looks at me and sits back down, still not convinced that I was telling her the truth.

"Alright. Mani/Pedi time?"

I smile a little, and nod.

Sure. Why not, I think to myself. What harm could possibly come from that?

We both finish our coffees, and then head over to the "beauty salon" place. Eh. I don't know what it's called. I'm not technical, like Carly. She knows all the names of stuff. These 'places' that I hardly ever go to. Ha!

So why did I come with Carly today?

Because I figured we hadn't had very much "girl time" lately. I'd been moping around like some depressed girl… oh… wait… I was 'some depressed girl' after…

Uhmm. Never mind.

We took our shoes off, and sat in the chairs. I could tell Carly was worried about me, so I gave her reassuring smile. Even though, I didn't really feel like it. As soon as my feet touched the hot water… I went from all tense and stressed to…

…Relaxed.

Completely relaxed.

Carls was right. And seriously, when is she ever wrong? But. I needed this.

Another girl came over and worked on my fingernails, while the other girl worked on my feet. Yep. Heavenly. I leant back in the massage chair and closed my eyes lightly. Enjoying the pampering.

"So, Sam," said Carly, softly.

"Hmm?" I reply, clearly in too much comfort by now to use proper words.

"…are you and Freddie still… uhmm… dating?"

Dating. Okay, that word I was fine with. It was her hesitant 'uhmm' that got me.

"Sure. Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason."

Opening one eye, I peer over at my friend, who has a great big smile stretching from ear to ear.

What was her deal?

I settle back down in my comfortable chair and close my eyes, very nearly falling asleep.

"You guys _are _going to Prom, right?" Carly finally blurts out.

"Uhmm…"

"Sam."

"I said 'uhmm'…"

"Yes. And I said 'Sam.'. Implying that you should actually give me an actual response."

Argh.

I hate it when she get's all "scholarly" on me. You know, saying things that have lots of meaning and that I can hardly ever understand. Well. I can understand… a little. Sort of.

"So…?"

"So what?"

"Prom! Yes?"

"I guess."

"Sam! Please!"

"What?"

"Oh, just forget it!"

I have a little chuckle to myself, then sit up carefully. After deliberating whether or not to continue torturing my best friend, without an answer, I give her a little grin. Her eyes widen a bit.

"Okay. I'll come to the stupid Prom." I mumble.

"Really?" Carly responds, excitedly.

"Did I not just say, 'I'll come'?"

"Yay! Oh this is most excellent!"

She's bouncing in her chair, clapping her hands. Like a little kid who just got a really great birthday present.

Really.

That girl needs like, a day-job or something.

She gets way too hyped up about "scholarly" (dance) events.


	34. Getting Girlified

_Chapter 34: Getting "Girlified"_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

Exhausted. I am.

By the end of the week, Carly had me running around with her, like a complete madwoman, getting everything all prepared for Prom.

Prom. The _bane _of my existence. Stupid prom.

It was tonight.

Yeah, yeah, we got our dresses and shoes. Now it was just make-up and hair doing up all fancy and chiz like that. I would be leaving _that _department to Carly Shay. Since she pretty much had a 'Major's Degree' in being all pretty and fashionable and stuff.

Me? Nah, I didn't care about that.

Sure I kinda… y'know, liked being "pretty" and dressing up… _occasionally_… I mean… every girl wants to look beautiful at least once in her life. Right?

"We're gonna look soooo damn gorgeous tonight!" Carly gushes, while brushing her hair.

"Yeah." I reply, dully.

Excuse my lack of enthusiasm Carls, but you should know by now. I _really _don't want to go to Prom. Never have, and quite possibly… never will.

"Come on!"

The girl is relentlessly pulling me here, there and everywhere.

I'm trying to stand my ground. But, with a fussy Carly, being stubborn just doesn't work. As I have found out more so today than any other day.

Not giving in though.

What? I am Sam Puckett. I have some reputation to still "try" and uphold, you know.

"Sam… just let me-"

"Noooooo!"

"Come back here!"

"Once again. Nooooo!"

I was running around the love-seat, and the brunette was chasing me, trying to pin me to a chair, so she could get to work on my hair. Or something of that nature.

"Sam!" Carly cried out, impatiently.

"Carly!" I imitated her frustrated voice.

"Stop that!"

"Stop what?"

"You know what I'm talking about!"

"So… Tell me again, like, _why _I actually need to go tonight?" I ask, flopping down on my friend's bed.

"Because," said Carly, probably feeling like she was explaining it to me for the five hundredth time. "If you don't go. Freddie will be sad. And! I will too. You don't want your best friend sad, do you? No. of course you don't. So buck up, give me your best fake smile, and let's get you all 'girlified'!"

A sad Freddie? As tempting as that sounds… I probably couldn't _really _live with that.

I groan and sit up. Then, stand up and slowly make my way over to the chair and a beaming Carly. Yeah, her smile was actually kind of creeping me out. It was so bright, and like… glowing.

Yes. Very creepy indeed.

By the way… as I found out for myself: "Girlified" is Carly's way of saying: "let's get ready for one heck of a torturous five hours" or whatever.

_Five _freaking long hours!

... /...

Wow.

I looked at myself in the mirror. And...

Just wow.

Carly worked magic on my make-up and also my hair. All done up, some lose curls hanging around my face. As well as me, she managed to get herself all ready too. At the same time! I tell ya. My best friend is amazing when it comes to stuff like this.

"We look hot," I comment, and Carly nods in agreement.

"We certainly do. Now, let's go! I think Spencer and Ariel said they'll drive us there."

As the girl leaves, I take one last look in the mirror, and smile at myself. I really did look... beautiful. And "girlified" of course.

Who knows, I thought to myself. Maybe tonight will be...

... kinda fun.


	35. Surprise

_Chapter 35: Surprise_

* * *

><p>FREDDIE'S POV:<p>

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

Just one question. I have to ask, and maybe you people know the answer to it. But. Why do girls _always _take forever to get ready?

Okay.

I'm a patient kind of guy. So I don't exactly mind waiting.

But seriously? A whole hour?

That's a lot of time to be sitting, on a couch and just waiting. I couldn't even talk to Spencer, since he was probably in his room, making out with his new girlfriend, or something.

I smile to myself.

Hey. At least the man is happy.

"Freddo!"

Speak of the devil.

"Hi Spence," I reply.

"You look smashing in that tux," he comments, with a wide grin.

"Thanks."

The man nods excitedly and walks over into the kitchen. Following behind him, is Ariel. A pretty, tall, red headed woman. She reminded me of that movie… oh, what was it called? I know it was a Dingo movie though.

Carly's favorite movie. Can't remember the title. Oh well.

"Wow. Someone is all handsomely dressed up," she says, with a giggle. "Spencee. You should take a photo."

Spencee? That's new.

I chuckle softly, and watch as the artist places his digital camera on the counter. I guess he wanted to wait for his sister and Sam to be here.

"I will. I'm just waiting for Carly and Sam to be here too."

See. Told you.

Ariel grins and goes to stand right next to him. I look at her, and then up at the smiling Spencer. They are a nice couple. Well, I think so, anyway. And I know Carly thinks that. I caught her planning their wedding the other day.

And she wasn't even ashamed of it.

That's Carly Shay for you.

I hear some footsteps, so I turn around and see a pretty brunette, making her way down the stairs, with the biggest (creepiest) glowing, beaming grin across her face. Like she was proud of an accomplishment, or something.

"Hi Freddie."

"Hey," I say, with a nice smile. "You are gonna flip when you see her."

The girl grins back at me, as if to say: "just wait till you see this". Then she turns her back to me.

"Come on! Get your 'lady-like' butt down here!" Carly yells to the top of the stairs.

Spencer, Ariel and I laugh a little.

Ever since this whole "Prom" saga started, she has been more bossy and commanding. Much like Sam when she was hungry for lunch.

Another set of footsteps.

Must've been Sam, I thought to myself. Well duh, stupid!

"Coming. I'm coming," replied a normal voice I fully recognized. "Carls, I really think that this is not-"

As soon as she sees me (all in blue, to match those stunning eyes), Sam stops talking and walking. Like she's frozen on the steps. I walk over to her, slowly and I'm unable to shut my mouth. Because at the moment, it's gaping… like a gold fish. Yeah, _exactly _like a fish.

Meanwhile. Carly, Ariel and Spencer are busying themselves in their own conversation. Probably just trying to be polite, and let Sam and I have... uhh... "a moment" alone.

"S-Sam..." I try to say. Stupid. Say something nice.

"Hi," she says, finally.

"You-"

"Yeah. It's not me. Okay?" Sam says, quickly. "So... Don't get all excited."

I shake my head, still kind of in shock. It's a good shock though. A VERY good shock.

"I... I... I-" Say it. Go on, Benson!

Speechless.

Dude! You're killing me!

Say. Something. _Anything_!

"Nice... dress," I say.

Mentally, I'm kicking my own butt. Could I be anymore of an idiot right now?

I mean... "_nice dress_"? Seriously!

That is when her fingers thump me on the forehead, bring me back to reality again.

Oh Sam. Still the same spunk as you always have.

I can't help myself but grin at her "gesture of Samness" and take her hand slowly and help her down the rest of the stairs.

Spencer, Carly and Ariel are all looking at us adoringly now.

"Are we leaving now, or what?" Sam questions no one in particular.

"No," says Carly, grinning. "Picture time!"

"Yes. Let's get some photos of you all," gushed Ariel, and nudged Spencer, who jumped into action with the camera, right away.

As soon as they were done, Spencer smiled at all three of us, and then handed me an envelope. Carly and Sam leant in close, as I opened it up.

"Kiddos, I just wanted to say… Happy Prom!" Spencer shouts and Ariel laughs melodiously.

"Spence, you got us a-" Carly started to say.

"Limousine? !" Sam and I simultaneously yell.

"Well, we both did," giggled the red-headed woman, hugging Spencer's waist. "Can't arrive to prom in a mini-van, can you?"

Ariel was referring to the mode of Spencer transport. either motor-cycle or mini-van. Neither one was suitable for "prom transportation".

We all hugged Spencer and Ariel. In one big group hug. Then after pulling away, the both of them ushered us all out the door.

"Go, have a good time!"

That was Spencer.

"Don't worry about us. We'll be fine!"

And that was Ariel.

"Thank you so much, bro," said Carly, hugging her brother again.

Sam and I both waved, and once our best friend was standing with us, ready to go, we all made our way to the elevator, out of the lobby and climbed right into our very own (hired for the night) shiny black limousine.


	36. It WAS a Secret Part One

_Chapter 36: It WAS a Secret - Part One_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

All that glitters is gold?

Nah.

All that "glitters" is girly and stupid. And pink. Of _all _colors. She chose the brightest most fluorescent pink in the world.

Like this Prom. The room is so sparkly (and freaking PINK!), it hurts my eyes.

So much like Carly, on a regular basis… happy… bright… cheerful… full of energy…

… it kind of pains me to say, I am being "girly and stupid" tonight.

Well, it's _just _ONE night… what possible harm could it do? I mean, really?

I look over at my best friend, examining our fellow classmates, and the rest of Senior Year students but try to hold back from bursting out laughing. The way she's bobbing up and down to some out-dated disco song, it's like she could be one of those 'doggy on a dashboard' toys.

Oh Carly.

Shaking my head in amusement, I head over to the punch bowl where I see Gibby.

Wait… Gibby?

Haven't seen him in while. I poke his back with my fist, and he spins around quickly, and then grins at me, when he sees what I'm wearing. Eyeing me up and down, I'm starting to get a little nervous around him.

Wait… nervous? Sam Puckett doesn't get nervous! Ever!

"Hi Sam. Nice dress." He says, winking.

Now, I _know _he's just teasing. I punch his arm, not carefully and gently and he lets out a cry of pain. I smirk, deviously.

Next time, Gib. Don't mess with Mama. She bites back. Hard.

"So, where've you been, little munchkin?" I question.

"Oh y'know," he replies, vaguely. He doesn't continue after that.

"Uhmm, no?"

That's when Fredward approaches me, with a big cheesy grin on his face. I look at him, and feel my heart flutter. Oh God. Really, Sam? _Flutter_?

I guess that's love for you.

Like Bolivian bacon… it changes you.

"Wanna dance?"

"Benson, have I _ever _actually WANTED to dance with you?"

He chuckles and grabs my hand, dragging me away from the vague looking Gibster, and spins me around, into his arms and dips me toward the floor and looks into my eyes.

Those yummy, delicious hazel eyes. They sparkle. No kidding, they were sparkling, literally.

"I know you want to dance with me," he says, still smiling.

So? What if I do? "Uhmm. I don-"

"Keep telling yourself that, Puckett."

He stands me up to my feet and twirls me out, then back into him quickly.

"Dude! This ain't the 1940's. No one dances like that anymore… except my grandparents. But they're _from _the 1940's!"

Another chuckle.

"Sam. Just… for once… go with it."

"Benson you-"

I shut up.

Mainly because his lips are pressed against mine softly.

Ah. Freddie Benson, you've done it again. You made me fall in love with you.

It happens every single time he kisses me like that.

Too girly for you, right? Yeah. Me too. Later on tonight, I'm gonna go shoplifting and steal a whole bunch of-

Unable to think... unable to even comprehend what was going on here.

My knees are weakening, and seriously, if the guy wasn't holding onto me, tightly, like he now was, I would have been a puddle on the dance floor by know.

Ugh. Girly.

But… Oh my God.

What _is _happening? I feel… light-headed.. And floaty… and.. And…

I just said "floaty".

Wow.

Freddie pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around my waist, so we're closer. And… still kissing each other, with not a single care in the world. I'm pretty sure everyone was staring at us by now.

Who cares.

Nothing. And I mean _nothing _could come between us right now.

We were too in love. Too perfect.

Forget shoplifting. (Did I just SAY that or THINK that?) This is all I need. Him. Fredward Karl Benson.

After a little while, I pull away slowly. Eyes still closed, and just enjoying the moment. Soaking up the bliss I was now feeling inside me.

"Freddie," I whisper, flickering my eyes open and staring at him. "I love you."

He smiles. God! I _love _that smile.

"I love you too, Sam," he whispers back, brushing one lose curl from my face.

"Smile, you two lovebirds!"

Moment broken. That was Wendy, with camera, for the year-book. Most probably.

Fredward and I both turned toward the camera, leant against one another and smiled softly as the bright flashes blinded me momentarily.

Argh! Why do they make camera flashes so damn bright! ?

"You want some punch?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah dork," I reply.

Grinning in my usual teasing way, I add a light punch to his shoulder for good measure. He laughs anyway, like he was totally expecting it. And perhaps he was. Since, he's the only boy who's ever fully understood me. Others ran to hid away from me. Freddie stayed.

"Of course," he says as we walk back over to the punch bowl. "Anything for my lady friend."

I punch him again. In the same spot, except harder. This time is different though. He yelps in pain, and I smile in satisfaction.

"Quit that stuff. Fredweird." I say, slapping his back playfully.

"Ouch! Sam, do you _have _to hurt me and call me names, even when we're dating? Heck. Even ENGAGED!"

What.

He said… what now? Did I just hear what I thought I just heard?

I saw the boy clap his hands over his mouth quickly as soon as he said the 'E' word. But it was too late. People were gathering around us. Eager to watch the "fight".

I just stood where I was and glared at him.

"I can't believe you just told everyone one of our most deepest and precious secrets."

My voice is as cold as a summer's day in antartica. I bet that's really icy. For good reason. I was hurt and offended that he'd be so freaking careless with a secret only we were going to know about, until after we... Frednerd... graduates. Forget that idea now. We were completely screwed.

He takes a step toward me.

"You know what I can't believe? Sam," says Freddie, looking directly at me and ignoring the gasps around us. "I can't _believe_ that you'd still hurt me like that."

"Oh, man up... or at least boy up!"

Students were starting to become interested in our "heated discussion" by now. They all were now staring at the both of us, in the middle of the room.

While we stood and glared at one another, not one of us willing to break the eye contact, people started to talk.

Eventually...

"SAM AND FREDDIE ARE ENGAGED!" shouted one voice suddenly.

Freddie went pink. Almost as brightly colored as the Prom decorations. I was pretty sure my face was turning deep plum or violet by now. Purple. The plain color of fury. The plain color of bitter, harsh hate.

I couldn't have hated Freddie anymore than how I was hating him right that very moment.

So.

Would you blame me if I told you, 'I turned on my heel quickly, and ran out of the hall and away from all the beady, watchful eyes and eavesdropping ears'?

Cause that's _exactly _what happened.


	37. It WAS a Secret  Part Two

_Chapter 37: It WAS a Secret - Part Two_

* * *

><p>FREDDIE'S POV:<p>

What did I do? What did I do? What did I DO?

That was all I could think of. It was the only question that was running around in my brain at that moment and I wasn't too fond of it, either.

Just the thought of me hurting Sam…

… was horrible.

I ran after her.

Out of the hall, and into the garden, where she was running to. Had I not been in a complete rush, I would have stopped, looked around and admired to lights on all of trees and the pretty roses everywhere.

"Sam, hold up!" I yelled.

She kept running.

"Please, we need to talk about this!"

Still, she kept on running.

That's when a thought hit me.

"I HAVE A HAM SANDWICH WITH EXTRA HAM!"

She stopped running, turned around and stood still, looking back at me. I wasn't sure if she would take off again as soon as I approached her. So, I took a couple of steps closer to the girl. She remained glued to the same spot.

"Ham?" she questioned, hopefully.

"I'm really sorry, Sam," I say, quietly, but loud enough for her to hear. "It just… it just came out of nowhere… I didn't mean to…"

The blonde relaxes slightly, and looks away from me.

"But you did. You did say it, Freddie. It was meant to be a-"

"I know."

"Now everyone knows about us being-"

"I know."

Again, Sam has a very deep sigh, and goes to sit on a bench. Hesitantly I follow her. Then carefully take a seat a few inches away from her. She looks down at the ground and then kicks her shoes off.

"Stupid shoes," she mutters.

I can't help but grin a little.

Then, I find her feet resting on my lap, and her head is leaning back on the wall behind her. I begin to rub her feet a little.

"Sam… Now that we're… now that… everyone knows… do you think, maybe, we could-"

"Make it official?"

My fingers stop their massaging, until the girl wiggles her feet, wanting me to continue. So I do.

"Do you think we should?"

"I don't know. It seems a little…"

Her voice trails off, and I'm left wondering what she wants to say. Of course there's nothing unusual about that.

"Sam. I love you."

"I love you too, Fredwar- …Freddie. And maybe… just maybe…. We could."

She takes her feet off my lap and slides closer to where I am. I slide my arm around her waist and kiss her cheek softly.

"Let's go," I say, standing up and picking up her shoes.

"Back in there?" Sam replies, looking a little afraid.

I look at her, and that's when I'm hit with another spontaneous idea.

"No. Come on…"

Sam slips her hand into mine and we both walk out of the hall, swinging our hands together at the same time, much like married couples do when walking on the beach or through the park.

Instead of taking the Limousine, I hailed a cab and directed the driver to Bushwell Plaza.

Eventually, we got there. I paid the cab driver and opened the door, leading Sam out of the car. She was still shoeless, so I pulled one of her arms around my neck and lifted her up. Kind of like grooms do to their brides when walking into a honeymoon suite or something like that.

Walking in to the building, there's STILL no sign of Lewbert anywhere. Well, I'm not complaining. That guy is like a lunatic.

Making my way up the stairs, I start to realize that Sam is quite heavy, despite her smallerish frame. I guess it could be because I'm traveling upwards, and it's putting more pressure from her weight onto my arms and therefore creating an 'illusion' to make it seem like the girl is heavy, when really it's the pressure from the-

Oh… you don't care about the laws of Physics?

Sorry.

Probably seeing the struggle on my face, Sam lets go of my neck and walks the rest of the way.

Relieved but partially embarrassed I follow her the rest of the way. Until we get to my apartment door. I unlock it, and let Sam walk in first. There's no sign of my mom in here. Which is a good thing.

That means my plan will work, nicely.

Okay. That sounded really sus and ominous. But I meant well. Good intentions, I swear.

"Why are we here?" Sam questions me.

"Look," I reply, walking to her slowly, in the darkness. "I know you said Prom isn't your thing, but yet, I still forced you to go… and I feel really bad…"

"Fredward, it's fine."

"No, it's not."

I make my way carefully to where I know my pear-pod is sitting, next to the pair of speakers, and find just the right song I looking for, and turn up the volume a little. But not too loud.

"Sam," I say. "May I have this dance?"

"No," she replies.

And even though we're standing in darkness, I can sense she's grinning from ear to ear.

"Why not?"

Her hands reach for mine and she pulls me closer to her, only to whisper: "Because. _I'm_ having this dance. With you."

I just smile.

Oh Sam.


	38. The Night to Remember

_Chapter 38: The Night to Remember_

* * *

><p>CARLY'S POV:<p>

Prom.

All night, I was chasing my tail, like a puppy dog. Never seeming to catch it.

Prom wasn't exactly a disaster.

Everything had to be perfect, I thought to myself. So, where was Tim? My date. Or supposed date. This was the one night I wanted to remember, the one special moment that I'd hold dear for the rest of my entire life. So much for that plan.

While I couldn't find my date, or Sam and Freddie anywhere, I sat myself down at one of the tables.

Admiring the set up room, bound up tightly with pink glittery decorations, I finally spot the guy. He's enjoying himself. Not with me, but some other girl. My heart goes from light to heavy in half a heartbeat.

Before, I thought Tim was just perfection. But now, in my eyes…

…he was a complete jerk.

And where did my best friends go? Just abandoned me?

Typical.

Sitting alone, while Tim was flirting with the other girls, I notice Gibby, wandering around, looking at me intently. Then his eyes widened, as he saw me catch his eye. He began walking over.

My heart began to race.

Okay, Carly. Calm down, it's not like he's-

"Hi Carly," he said, sitting down next to me. "Why so glum?"

Be still, racing heart.

"I just…"

I was ready to blurt everything out to him, but then, looking into his eyes, which were softened slightly, I decided to hold back a little. He was looking straight back at me and ready to listen to whatever I had to say.

"Come on," he said, holding out his hand to me. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Timothy… h-he…" I point where Tim is, now leading another girl out of the hall.

One single tear trails from my eye, and down my cheek. With one gentle swipe of his finger, Gibby wipes it away.

I never thought I'd say this but… he's like the handsome prince I've always wanted to meet. But, a little awkward, clumsy, funny, very weird and strange… that's Gibby Gibson for you though. This must be it. I am in love. I think he's in love with me too. Maybe. I don't know. It's so hard to tell, when he's looking at me like he's in a wonderful dream and never wants to wake up from it.

Yeah. Love.

"It's his loss," he says, with a slight smile. "You are… one of a kind, Carly."

"Thanks Gibby," I reply, and grab his hand finally. "May I have this dance?"

The guy grins and pulls me up, leading me to the almost empty dance floor. It's the end of Prom, and everyone is just about gone. There's some soft slow music playing in the background. He holds me in his arms, and my head rests just below his chin on his chest.

It's nice.

Feels like a perfect ending to a not so perfect night. Cinderella Carly and Prince Gibby.

It was very nice.

"Carly," he murmurs, just loud enough for me to hear.

"Hmm?" I hum, enjoying every last second of our swaying type dance.

"Do you think… that maybe we could… or that you could…"

"Mhm," I reply softly.

I feel his arms tighten around me, and I melt a little more into his arms. I could have stayed there forever. I didn't realize it before, but now… a simple piece of the puzzle… had just clicked into place.

This will _definitely _be a night to remember.


	39. Around the Corner

_Chapter 39: Around the Corner_

* * *

><p>SPENCER'S POV:<p>

"I am so happy, when I'm with you," I sing to the woman sitting next to me.

"Oh Spencer," she giggles. "You are too funny."

"Baby, you're the only one for me."

Ariel continues to laugh at my made up song and I continue to sing some nonsense words, just to make her giggle. I love the way she laughs. It's so loud and… musical. Pleasant to listen to, that's for sure.

It was true.

I had never loved anyone as much as I loved Ariel. She was… pretty much, my everything.

Just as I was about to pull her close to me, so I could kiss those perfect lips, we were interrupted by the giggles of two 'after-prom' hyped up teens. My little sister, Carly and her wacky friend, Gibby. They had their arms around each other, and the small guy had lipstick marks all over his face.

I couldn't help but grin at this. I look over at Ariel, who is sharing the same grin as me. We exchange a sneaky look and quickly dash into my bedroom, and peek around the corner to listen to them.

The door closes behind them, as they're still giggling and carrying on.

"You want a drink?" Carly's voice asks.

"Sure!" Gibby's voice replies.

Starting to move out of the hiding place, I feel a hand on my shoulder. It stops me.

"Don't."

"But, I don't want them drinking-"

"Spencee," she says, softly, pushing me into the wall. "They're just having a little fun… what's the harm in that?"

"N-nothing… I guess…"

My hands slide around her waist and her arms slide around my neck.

Before too much else could happen, I hear Carly screaming. Then the loud shriek turns into laughter.

"See," whispers the woman, into my ear. "It's just harmless, kid fun."

I turn and look into Ariel's eyes, instantly forgetting about Gibby and Carly having 'harmless kid fun' with each other in the kitchen.

"Harmless. Kid…" I repeat her exact words, but can't finish.

Just a bit distracted.

Maybe it was the fact that Ariel wanted to have her own "harmless, kid fun" with me.

"Come on, Spence, let them be."

"Okay, okay."

After listening to their giggling, I look at the red-head next to me.

"Hey… you want to go somewhere fun and exciting?" Ariel said, her eyes widening with wonder.

I couldn't help but say 'yes', and let her drag me (silently) out of the apartment while trying to hold back her loud giggles.

What surprises lay right around the corner for me? Hmm.


	40. Magical Roof

**_-Hiding IT-_**

_Chapter 40: Magical Roof_

* * *

><p>SAM'S POV:<p>

Stars. Lights. Buildings. So many wonders in this city. All of that can be seen from up here.

There's one thing I like about the Bushwell Plaza building. I don't live in it, but… I'm here enough to pretty much be considered a resident by now. What was I talking about again? Oh yeah.

The roof is just so… magical.

Okay. That just sounds girlishly ridiculous, but it's completely true. If you don't believe me, then ask Fredlumps.

"Beautiful," comments the boy, breathing out air slowly.

I nod in agreement but then see him staring at me, smiling.

Turning away from him, I try to hide a smile while probably looking like a tomato by now. He just walks over to me and pulls me closer to him, looking directly into my eyes. My hands reach up and cup his face, as I kiss him slowly.

Just then, he let's go of me and pulls back slightly.

"What?" I ask, blinking a little.

Freddie sits down and I go to sit down next to him. His hand rests on my knee for a bit and then he takes it off again. He's not smiling, and I know he's thinking deeply about something.

Cue the speech.

"Everything… we have been through… together…" he starts to say, softly. "… every little fight… every little… kiss… every set back… every triumph… every…"

"Where is this going, Fredward?" I question, looking over at him.

"I have a point, I swear!" Freddie replies, quickly.

I nod my head again, and he sighs, looking over the city, and all the twinkling lights on the surrounding buildings. Nothing could ever disturb the peace of where we were now.

"… I want to... know… if you think… uhmm…"

"Spit it out, Freddison."

"Are we still going to get… you know… married…?"

Everything's silent.

The only thing that can be heard is my beating heart, right in my ear drums.

I looked at Freddie, who was looking directly at me, a hopeful twinkle in those gorgeous eyes I loved so much.

There was only one thing to do.

"Yes."

"So… I can give you this…?"

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handkerchief. Yeah, good ole' Mrs Benson, and her preparedness, oh and her crazy, overprotectiveness too, always making her son carry around something as lame as a handkerchief.

"A handkerchief…" I say, slightly disappointed.

What? It's a _handkerchief _and it's _lame_. Not even decorated with hams or bacon… or fried chicken!

"Yes. It is a handkerchief. But… it's much more."

Freddie smiles and slowly, carefully, peels the cloth away and reveals something small and shiny. I was anxious to see what it was. But I wasn't about to jump around and squeal like a girl because of it.

Okay. Too late.

I was bouncing around like a kid hopped up on red soda and red candy.

Hey, what is it with red stuff causing people or children to go hyper-active, anyway?

Sorry, back to the story. I was bouncing arou- … oh I already said that part. Whoops! I was really excited, and the boy just wasn't fast enough.

"What is it, Freddie? Tell me! Tell me now before I explode!"

He chuckles and takes my left hand gently in one of his own hands and smiles again.

"Close your eyes, Sam."

I do.

"Keep them closed."

I feel something kind of hard and cold… and round being slipped onto my finger… and I finally realize what it actually is, that Freddie had for me and my heart races just a little more.

Without waiting for him to instruct me to open my eyes again, I just do it and see a simple and small diamond ring now on my finger.

I grin at him, and he grins back, even more, and probably awaiting my response, eagerly.

"Oh my God, Freddie!"

My body reacts before my head and I leap right onto his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck quickly and attack his mouth with kisses. Then, he's laughing and I'm laughing and we're both trying to kiss each other. It kind of worked.

For anyone who wants to know, kissing someone while you're laughing your head off, is pretty much, impossible.

Freddie and I… don't believe there's such thing as impossible.

"I thought you'd like it. Carly helped me pick it out." Freddie explained, holding me in his arms.

"It's beautiful. And it's... perfect."

"Well then, it's not at all like you, then."

My eyes widen, about to hit him for saying something so insulting, but before I could do anything, he grabs my hands in his and places them on his chest.

"...Fred-"

"You're beyond beautiful... and... if you were perfect... I wouldn't love you the way I love you for just being you."

Cheesy?

You bet.

Was I speechless afterwards?

You bet.

Did we kiss so passionately, that my knees buckling underneath me and I could have fallen to the ground in any give moment? (If I was standing up, that is)

Well...

Freddie's hands grab my face, holding it gently and pulling me closer to him and pressed his lips to mine. Kissing me. Me kissing him. A whole lot of just, kissing each other.

Sparks. So many sparks flying every which way, and honestly, I didn't know or couldn't find which way was up and which way was down. My whole world was...blurry. But it was definitely in a good way.

You bet we kissed.

Over. And over. And over. And... well... you get the point now.

But.

When you're standing on top of a building… on a roof… declaring your love for another person… and they're standing right beside you or in your arms… there's nothing… absolutely nothing… that you cannot do.

You feel the power. You feel the breeze and whispered secrets of the stars above you. You feel completely…loved.

And that's the awe-inspiring magic… of the Bushwell Plaza roof.


	41. Small Changes Mean Alot

-**Hiding IT-**

_Chapter 41: Small Changes Mean Alot_

* * *

><p>FREDDIE'S POV:<p>

"Fredward Karl Benson!"

"What!"

"Get your cute butt over here now!"

We had been engaged for over three months, and she still resorted to calling me names. Although she called my behind 'cute', so I'm not complaining. Also, the girl had gotten a little nicer as time wore on.

A little.

Not too much. But that ferocious, feisty fire had somewhat dimmed.

Dimmed.

I'm repeating the key words so you understand my predicament now, which is not at all fun and games, when you think about it. Although being with Sam Puckett, that's an entirely different story. She's vicious, she's aggressive, she's killing me slowly, I'm sure of it. But I really do love her.

"Why do you want me?" I call out to her.

Her messy blonde curls and mischievous looking face appears from around the corner. That smirk tells me she has a devious plan and I'm going to be a part of it.

Oh yeah…

I was slightly terrified right now.

"Come here, dork boy." Sam replies, and her head disappears around the corner.

"What is it, Sa- Sam! What did you do? !"

My room was stripped of all the 'Galaxy Wars memorabilia' including my stun blazer, playing cards, bed linen, pillows, and curtains. I was beyond shocked.

Sam pointed to a box with some figurines.

"You don't want to keep those dollies, do you?"

_Dollies_? ?

She kicked the side of the box to reiterate her point.

I let out a gasp and ran over to the box and got them all out. Setting them up on my shelves above the bed, where they were before being tampered with by a blonde headed demon. She was definitely the bane of my existence. Why did I love her again?

"They are _figurines _! NOT dolls! Captain D3-R3 does not belong in a box! _Especially_ alongside Garthfader, they are sworn enemies of the Galatic Alliance!"

I could just tell she was rolling her eyes as I was speaking.

"Whatever," she said. "You're not keeping them."

With one simple swipe, they all tumbled off the shelf and onto the floor.

Again, I gasped.

"Sam!"

"Freddie!"

I stopped and sat down on the empty bed, holding my face with my hands and rubbing it slowly. Then I look up at the girl, who has her hands clasped together, in front of her and looking down at the floor almost like she feels guilty for just getting rid of all my stuff without permission.

She looks sweet and it's almost impossible for me to stay mad at her for long.

"Look," I say, in serious tone, patting the spot on the bed next to me. "If we're going to try and make this work… us living together… you can't just… throw all my stuff out."

The blonde looks at me, and my hand, still patting next to me and I can tell she's thinking about whether she should sit down or not. I give her an 'it's okay' sort of smile and she smiles, and takes a seat. My hand rests on her leg gently and I look into her eyes.

"I'm… sor-sorry."

"Sam, it's not… well… it doesn't matter."

"I really think we should live together. I thought it'd be better with an empty room, so we can fill it with 'our' stuff."

I was taken aback.

Never before had I heard such sentiment come from the blonde girl and towards me, no less.

"I think," I say, with a soft smile. "That is a wonderful idea."

"We can't tell my mom or your mom about this."

I look at her with a serious expression and nod solemnly.

If either of our mothers found out about us living together… there'd be hell to pay and possibly more than that.

So Sam and I were (unofficially) for all intents and purposes, living together.

I couldn't wait for the fun to really start.


End file.
